A Sharptooth's Heart II
by Sora W.T.K
Summary: One year after his previous adventure, Rex finds himself involved in a war for the fate of the Great Valley. And being part of the fight will answer Rex's question of who he really is and more...
1. A lost someone

_Rex…_

A bipedal winged omnivore dinosaur whose egg was found by Littlefoot in a cave high on the protective mountains of the Great Valley…

_Zill and Bull…_

Fast Biter brothers who seeked entry into the Great Valley. They found their entry information from a DuckBill Zill hunted down…

Thanks to these two Fast Biters, Rex's Sharptooth side has been awakened, and it cost Zill's life in the process, driving the angry Bull into a rage for revenge. As consequence, Rex disappeared from the valley, leading Littlefoot and his friends on another adventure, a perilous adventure that nearly took the life of Littlefoot's and Cera's.

During the midst of his adventure, Rex has befriended the young Fast Biter Yu, the lovable Sharptooth Chomper, and also Yu's family and velociraptor pack.

During his adventure in the Mysterious Beyond Rex has went up against all kinds of dangers: Against a prey, against Bull himself, against Bull's pack. Even against one from his own kind known as Kumo, the supposed dinosaur who lacked emotions.

But the biggest mystery Rex has encountered was the quiet group of black and red dinosaurs composed of five bipedal dinosaurs, named the Arich. Claiming to know the name of the species Rex, Kumo, and themselves, belong to, they keep an eye on the kid, helping Yu's pack fight against Bull's, and helping Rex in being reunited with his friends.

But in the end, they must part ways. Littlefoot and the gang return to the Great Valley with the help of the Arich pack, while Rex and his Sharptooth friends stay in the Mysterious Beyond to face off against Bull, the Fast Biter who, along with his brother, was the source of all their troubles.

In the end, Bull met his end, and Rex, Yu, Chomper and Kumo barely survive with their lives to live another day…

* * *

**It's been one year since then…**

The night is as dark as it can get. The clouds riddling the sky as the Night Circle hides behind them, leaving the earth in a dark shadow of nothingness. Every living creature, all of them except for the nocturnal ones, sleep peacefully in their dens.

But somewhere high in a chain of mountains, a creature flies high above, scanning the grounds from high above and finally setting foot on the edge of a cliff on a mountain. Muscles on its legs tensed as its weight now shifts onto them and holding the creature upright on its two feet.

The creature stands up straight in its bipedal stance, flexing its claws to stretch the muscle and spreading its wings, stretching them after the night's flight. It gave a pleasing yawn through a squared-off muzzle before opening its eyes, letting its green iris show off.

The creature takes a step forward, taking that step with a graceful stance, not hunching forward or any of the sort, like any human would walk. Taking another step, it slowly enters into the cave. More of a dark and sinister darkness engulfs the creature as it takes more steps forward, getting deeper and deeper into the cave until, there in the middle of the cave, sits another bipedal creature much like it with wings on a huge rock.

It was using its strong claws to carve on the cave wall, silently scraping dust and pebbles off of the cave to make shapes and indentations. It didn't even seem to acknowledge the newcomer walking into its home.

After a bit of silence between the two dinosaurs, the one sitting on the rock speaks, "so…Have you found anything new today?"

The one standing shook his head. "No, nothing."

The dinosaur stops carving on the wall, giving off a sigh. "It has been like that for a few Bright Circles now."

"Maybe we should call off the search; we haven't found any traces or clues on his whereabouts."

"No…I refuse to give up…"

The one standing growls. "When are you going to accept the fact? He's gone. He always was. He disappeared along with her. All of these clues and rumors you talk about are nothing but nonsense."

The one sitting suddenly stands up, glaring at the green eyed creature with his dark blue eyes. He was a bit taller than the green eyed one, and though hard to see in the darkness of the cave, you can make out a scar over the creature's right eye.

"I have faith that he is still alive." He growled at the other. "Who are you to question my beliefs?"

The green eyed one takes a step forward, glaring at the tall one in the eye, growling. "Who are you to boss us around searching for someone who might be dead just because of your beliefs? We are exhausted with this night and day search! You should forget about this dang search and focus your attention to your so-"

"Not so loud!" The dark blue eyed one snapped, glaring at the creature in front of him before turning his head toward the end of the cave. "You'll wake him…"

At the end of the cave lies a nest made out of leaves and twigs. Sleeping on it is a creature similar to them, small in size, a child. His little wings were tightly folded against his back as he sleeps curled up, his arms folded under him as his tail is curled up around him.

The green eyed creature's glare softens into one of sorrow, bowing his head a bit in shame. "I'm sorry…" He apologizes, giving off a sigh. "I'm just tired…I know how hard this must be for you…"

"No time for sorrow…" The blue-eyed one speaks, shaking his head. "Get some rest, tomorrow I'll be doing the search. You and the others can take a break from it."

* * *

Slowly opening his eyes, Rex was greeted by the bright blue sky, clouds beautifully plaguing it as the Bright Circle shines down upon him. The dinosaur slowly got up, yawning widely as he did so. He was just about to get up when something pounces him from behind, toppling him to the ground on his stomach.

"Waah!" He yelped, now on the ground on his stomach as he hears the familiar laughter of a certain longneck. "Heheh! Alright, you win Littlefoot! Now please, get off!"

Littlefoot couldn't help but grin as he got off of the winged dinosaur, letting him turn over to his back. "Hahah! Couldn't help it, I was a bit bored before spotting you here."

"Heh! Same ol' Littlefoot." Rex jokes, shaking his head as he gets up. "But I guess I deserved it after being so long back there in the Mysterious Beyond."

"You can say that again!" Littlefoot giggled as he gets up on his hind legs and pawing at Rex with his forepaws.

Rex giggled as he puts out his paws and held Littlefoot's paws, but the sneaky Longneck focused his weight on Rex and pushed him back onto the ground, this time Littlefoot pinning him down with his forepaws on Rex's stomach. The two dinosaurs broke into laughter, so happy to finally be together again.

Littlefoot couldn't help but smile at his omnivore friend once the laughter subsided. "I really missed you, Rex. The Great Valley wasn't the same without you…"

Rex smiled back at the Longneck who's practically been like a brother to him. "I missed you too, and I tell ya, it wasn't easy living in the Mysterious Beyond, it was insane!"

Littlefoot laughed as he got off of Rex. "Oh really? Why not tell me all about it!"

Rex chuckled as he got up to a sitting position next to Littlefoot. "Heheh! Well, let's see…Where do I start…"

* * *

And just like that, the dream was over…It was morning…

_**An amazing creature**_

Inside a cave Rex slowly woke up from his dream.

It has been a year since the events that drastically changed his life, and in a year a lot can happen. He has gained a scar over his right eye, one that hasn't properly healed due to poor atmosphere conditions and poor attention to it. He would usually think twice about going into the water, as water would cause the scar to sting.

Through the whole year out in the Mysterious Beyond Rex has grown. He's one foot and a half taller, his body has gotten slightly bulkier and his skills as a Sharptooth have greatly improved. Although even through the harsh living conditions and constant dangers out in the Mysterious Beyond Rex is still the upbeat and cheerful dinosaur he always was

_**A forgotten species**_

Rex got up to his feet, letting out another yawn as he stretched out his arms and wings. He slowly opened one eye and froze in mid-stretch as he noticed he wasn't alone. Five Fast Biters, all of them from Yu's pack, stared at Rex with their usual glares. Rex may have been with them for a full year, but they still find the kid a bit…Unique.

_**Answers so simple**_

Rex stood up straight, held his head up high and returned the Fast Biters' glares with one of his own. He's practically part of the pack now, and he wants to show it.

Whether that did the trick or the Fast Biters took pity on his attempt he couldn't tell, but the Fast Biters got up and left the cave, one of them giving off a snarl to the rest of the pack outside. Rex blinked as they left and followed them out. He had to shield his eyes from the blinding light of the Bright Circle after his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave.

"Rex! Over here!"

Rex turned his head a bit to the side and spotted Yu, the green Fast Biter who he befriended about a year ago, waiting for him.

Rex grinned and waved his paw to him with a "Hey!"

_**Spirits of the past**_

With a smile on his face he takes one step forward off, but almost immediately upon stepping the sand he jumps back to the cave's cool ground with a wince. He forgot how hot the desert sand can be, and from the looks on his face Yu was giggling about his reaction.

Feeling silly Rex takes his licks and steps onto the hot sand and heads toward Yu, trying to hide any signs of pain on his face.

"Ow…" He does let out a small whine as he approached Yu before adding, "How can you stand this soil at this time of the day?"

_**Unforgiving lies**_

Yu chuckles, "I got no idea; I guess we're just used to it."

Rex smirks a little and shakes his head.

Yu had his fair share of growing as well. Just a year ago Yu's head was at about chest level to Rex. Rex had to lower his head a bit to even look at Yu. But now, Rex didn't even need to move his head to be at eye level with Yu. These two friends have really grown, and their friendship has only grown even stronger through the time.

"So…" Rex begins as he crosses his arms. "What's the pack's plan for today? More roaming in the desert or are we heading out to the areas with green food? I've been craving for a bit of green food for quite a while."

_**Untold story**_

Yu shrugged.

"Beats me," he said, "my dad haven't told me of today's plans yet. Though I'm sure he has something special planned."

"Oh really?" Rex arches an eyebrow, unfolding his arms with a nod. "Alright then, let's go then."

Yu nods and turns, starting to run over to catch up with the pack until Rex stops the little race with a question: "Say, isn't it almost time for Chomper to come back?"

_**Lost ones**_

Yu blinks, coming to a stop as he ponders about the question.

"You know…Now that you mention it, I think you're right," Yu said as he looks over his shoulder at Rex, "I think it's around this time that he migrates with his parents and joins our pack for a while. I mean, it's been a long time since he last went back."

"Why is it that his parents do this kind of trip all the time? Especially after so many Bright Circles, and I do mean a lot of Bright Circles."

Yu thinks back, suddenly remembering.

"Ah! He told me once that around these Bright Circles his island kind of runs low on food. I think he also said a land path comes out of the Big Water between his island and ours." Yu paused as he tried to remember. He then added, "I think they also join us because his dad saved my dad's life, I think. And it's kind of our way of returning the favor…"

_**Guardians of the Valley**_

Rex smiled, sounds just like Yu's dad returning favors to those he owes. He's always been like that, trying to be fair and never leave a favor unreturned.

"It's been a pretty long time since we last saw him," Rex said, thinking back on Comper. "I wonder if he still remembers us…Heh, imagine how much he must've grown after such a long time!"

Yu grins. "Yeah, imagine…He won't be the smallest one of the gang anymore, I bet!"

Rex and Yu suddenly had a thought of Chomper growing to be as huge and tall as his own father. They were a little intimidated at the idea, but then they couldn't help but laugh. They knew no matter how big and fearsome Chomper grows he would always be their friend.

Yu stopped laughing as he noticed how far away his pack was getting. He turned to Rex and said, "C'mon, we're getting left behind, let's get going!"

Rex nodded in agreement and ran alongside Yu to catch up to the pack.

"Say," Yu said as he looked over to Rex, "Have you heard anything from Kumo? We haven't seen him for quite a long time now."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen or heard of him since last time he was with us, before we got into the desert. I wonder where he went…"

* * *

_**When distant kinds come to light…**_

_**Battles ensue…**_

_**But with the heart of three…**_

_**A bond will be forged…**_

_**And regain the peace that was once theirs…**_


	2. A nice promotion

Rex and Yu have caught up with the pack by the time they stopped close to a cliff. They all stopped to take a break, to catch their bearings on where they are and get to know the area a bit.

The view in front of them was a more thorough view of the lasts of the wasteland. Up ahead they could see green fields, a field of mountains up ahead which was a little too familiar for some of the members of the pack.

Rex stepped closer to the edge of the cliff to take a better look, getting nostalgic as he recognized the mountains up ahead. Beyond those mountains lies his home, the utopia for all leaf eaters and peacemakers alike: the Great Valley.

**Mysterious Beyond**

His thoughts went back to his old friends. To Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Spike, and Petrie. It's been so many Bright Circles since he last saw them. They must've had so many new adventures since he left, met new friends and so many new memories. He wondered if they still remember him.

Rex promised them that he would return once he was finished finding the answers to his questions. What kind of dinosaur is he? Who gave him life? Are they still alive? Where does he really belong? He hasn't gotten close to finding the answers so far, but he has faith that one day he will. _And once I do…I'll be back home guys…I promise…_

"Rex!"

Rex turned around at the call of his name.

"C'mon," Yu said as he walked up to him, "follow me! Dad wants to see you!"

Rex blinks. He then pointed a claw to himself as he asked, "What? See me?"

"Yeah," Yu replied, "He says it's important, let's go!"

Rex nodded and followed Yu back to the pack. As he got near to the numbers he noticed most of their eyes were on him. He still felt very uncomfortable about that. It made him feel different, out of place. As if he needed something more emphasis on how different he was to the rest of them.

He tried his best to look part of the pack. His wings folded close to his back, walk straight, hold his head up high and glare in their general direction. _Try to look threatening here._

He still felt silly doing this, trying to act someone he's not. And he's getting the vibe it's not working with how they kept looking at him. He must be trying too hard.

"Heheheh," Rex heard Yu giggling in front of him, "You know you don't have to act like that, just be yourself."

Rex sighed, mentally making a note on that.

Before he could even adjust they were already standing in front of Yu's father, Judah.

Yu stood firm and straight in front of his father, paying his respects to his father and leader of the pack. Rex however took a second to realize he had to do the same and mimicked Yu's stance. This is all still so…Weird to him. He was never this disciplined back in the Great Valley.

Yu's father, Judah, stood between two of his most trusted Fast Biters. He gives a slight smile at the two children in front of him and gestured them to be at ease in front of him.

"Morning Rex, Yu," he greeted them in the trademark Sharptooth language.

Being a Sharptooth as well Rex could pick up and understand the language. He wasn't sure where he learned it, living his whole life with Leaf-Eaters. It just came to him the first instant he heard the language. Instinct, he concluded.

"Morning," Rex replied with a smile.

Rex still remembers that first time he met Yu and his father. It was actually an accident.

He was wandering in a jungle, lost and unsure on where to go when he was suddenly ambushed and attacked by a Fast Biter. It turned out to be Yu, suffering from an out of control reaction he often suffered toward anyone new. Relating to the problem Rex helped him out trying to overcome it, and from doing so he also met Yu's father.

"Morning, dad," Yu greets as he respectfully bowed his head to his father, "You said you wanted to see us?"

Judah nods and gestures his claws to his two 'bodyguards', dismissing them. He waited until they were gone to continue his talk with his son and friend.

"That's correct," he said, "You two have been much of my pride and joy to have in the pack."

Judah looked at his son and continued, "Yu, my son. Ever since you've been born both your mother and I raised you well. I've taught you everything I knew on how to hunt and to survive. You've grown both physically and mentally."

Yu smiled with pride from his father's words. To get such praise from his dad, who's usually harsh and strict, was nothing short of an accomplishment.

"You've shown great courage and wonderful performance in the field of hunting," Judah continued, "And so, I'm proud to say that you, from now on, will be serving the pack from the Frontier Lines."

Yu and Rex both gasped in shock. They couldn't believe it. To hear that Yu's moving from the Backer Lines into the Frontier Lines is a huge honor in itself.

The Lines is a defense system Fast Biters learned to apply into their packs for protection of their young and pack.

The system consists of three lines. The Backer Lines, which protect their hatchlings and elderly. The Frontier Lines, which the strongest Fast Biters make to fight and defend the pack in an attack or hunt. And the Middle Lines, their second layer of defense should any prey or invader makes it past the Frontier Lines.

As suggested, the Frontier Lines is the highest rank in the pack. Only the strongest and most trusted of the pack make up that line of defense. It's a common dream among hatchlings and young Fast Biters to make it into the Frontier Lines someday.

Yu was still in shock. He was so happy he was forcing back tears of joy. This was the highest honor of the pack. Now he can battle alongside his father, have more responsibilities, have more respect.

"Thank you, dad," Yu said, bowing his head in respect again, "I promise I won't let you down."

Judah nods, "Your mother would've been proud."

Rex smiled at Yu. He felt happy for his friend. He finally made it to the Frontier Lines, a proud soldier for his own pack. The strongest and bravest of the pack are there, and now Yu was one of them, ready to fight and protect his family and friends.

While on one paw he was happy for him, on the other he felt sad. Before this both Rex and Yu defended the pack in the Backer Lines, always staying with the hatchlings while the others were fighting off invaders and hunting for food. He was going to miss sharing the pain of babysitting with him.

"As for you, Rex."

Rex tensed up and looked at Judah. He stood up straight as he faced the leader of the pack, staring at the leader's stern expression on his face. Rex hated that look, and it usually came along with a scolding or something.

"You've been an…Interesting addition to the pack," Judah said, emphasis on the word 'interesting, "And yet, you've been a valuable asset to us. When you approached me along with my son to become part of my pack, I was skeptical at first. Believing you would slow us down, give us trouble, more weight on our claws, a meddler."

Rex winced at the mention of each and every claim. He expected skeptism from the leader himself when he first approached him to be a part of his pack, considering they were all Fast Biters and he's…not. He tried his best to prove him wrong, that he was just as good as they were.

"But you proved me wrong," Judah said, warranting a smile from Rex. "You've helped us all in hunts, aided us against opposing packs, and of course you've greatly helped Yu in honing his skills and maturing."

Judah smiled at Rex and concluded, "I can't thank you enough for your invaluable help."

Rex bashfully smiled as he scratched the back of his head. The praise was making him blush. He giggled a little and said, "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

"You've been like another son to me," Judah continued, "Taking care of you along with Yu, seeing you grow up during these Bright Circles alongside my own son. It's been like I own not one, but two sons."

Rex kept his gaze on Judah, feeling a little overwhelmed by what he said. To be considered like another son by Yu's father, that was something he wasn't expecting. He never tried to be seen like an adoptive son, just as another member of the pack, a fellow soldier.

"Gee…Uhhh…Umm…I don't know what to say," Rex stammered with a smile as he tried to express his gratitude, "Thank you for the kind words."

Yu couldn't help but chuckle and struggle to hold in a laugh, getting a look from Rex as if being a bit embarrassed on being laughed at.

"He's right, you know," Yu said, stopping the giggles and shedding an honest smile. "All these Bright Circles together, playing around and stuff, it really makes me feel like I've gained a brother in you."

Rex had to fight from shedding tears. This would be his third time, if not his second, that he has received such heartwarming words from them. "Awww…Thanks, Yu. That…That really means a lot…"

Judah cleared his throat to get the children's attention. He still had a few more things to say to them.

"And to conclude," Judah said, "I've taken notice of the great teamwork the both of you can make, quite impressive might I add. Therefore, Yu, Rex will accompany you in the Frontier Lines."

Rex and Yu both gasped together. Did they just heard right? Rex is also joining the Frontier Lines along with Yu? It sounds too good to be true, yet the words came out of Judah's mouth loud and clear.

Rex and Yu, the pack's best buds, together in the Frontier Lines and fighting alongside one another, what better ranks to be in such a pack? With big smiles on their faces Rex and Yu take their respective stances, standing firm and straight, and respectfully bowed their heads at Judah.

"We promise we won't let you down," Rex announced, his head bowed in respect along with Yu.

"I'm certain you two will do your best," Judah nods, "You two can go now. Dismissed."

Rex watched as Judah walked off. He grinned to himself as he daydreamed. He pictured himself as the strongest warrior of the Frontier Lines, leading and commanding the rest of the pack to victory against rival packs and successfully hunting down prey.

"Rex, leader of the Frontier Lines," Rex muttered to himself as he daydreamed. He giggled at the brilliant idea, embarrassing himself within his own thoughts.

Rex looked over to his left and noticed Yu isn't standing next to him anymore. He turned around and saw him not too far off, standing by the edge of a nearby cliff looking out at the distance.

"What are you looking at?" Rex asked as he walked over to Yu.

"Just looking at the Great Valley Mountains up," Yu replied, "Those mountains, they're pretty high and hard to climb, aren't they?"

"Yeah…"

"I mean, just imagine how many Sharpteeth tried to climb it, only to fail."

"I can think of a few," Rex said, he too joining Yu in the sightseeing, "When lived there I heard a lot of stories about Sharpteeth who never came back down from the mountains, didn't even leave behind a trace. It like they just disappeared."

"Freaky," Yu shuddered at the thought of just disappearing, just like that.

"Tell me about it."

Rex's eyes soon wandered off the mountains and into the forest below, admiring the vast greenery compared to the dry terrain they've been through for the last few Bright Circles. He began to grow hungry as he saw all of that green food. Rex squinted as he noticed a familiar area in the forest.

"Hey," He pointed toward the spot, "I recognize that spot!"

Yu looked at Rex. He then looked at the spot he was pointing, squinting to get a better look. It took him a few seconds but he quickly remembered the spot. How could he forget? That was the spot where they took shelter in a cave about a year ago, where they met Kumo for the first time.

"Oh yeah, that's where we first met Kumo. I remember that!"

"Heheh, it always cracks me up thinking how you guys mistook him for me."

"Well he did kind of look like you!"

Rex laughed as he folded his arms at Yu and said, "Simple mistake at first sight."

Yu chuckled, "Hey! We weren't paying too much attention back then! We were younger!"

Rex laughed again at his friend's expense. Yu gave him a look before laughing himself a couple of seconds later. It's been a few weeks since they last had a laughing fit like this. The last time they laughed this hard was when they were passing through a swamp. Rex tried to hop over a few rocks to cross a bubbly goo puddle, but it ended with him slipping and falling into the mud. Yu laughed at how Rex looked when he came out of the bubbly goo puddle. Brown didn't really suit him.

The two of them finally stopped their laughter when their sides began to hurt. They looked back at the mountains as they admired the view.

'_I wonder what Littlefoot is doing,'_ Rex though to himself, not taking his eyes off the mountains in the distance.

The memories of his Longneck friend were returning again…

* * *

"Littlefoot! Wait up!"

Littlefoot stopped in his tracks and turned his head over his shoulder. Littlefoot had grown quite a bit during this past year. He was now two feet taller, and yet his voice and smile as innocent and gentle as ever.

"C'mon Cera!" Littlefoot called back, "Hurry up!"

From behind Littlefoot Cera finally caught up. The stubborn Threehorn was a foot taller compared to last year. Her horns as well have grown and seem to have gotten a bit sharper. She was indeed growing up into a strong and proud Threehorn. However, she's still as sarcastic and arrogant as always.

Cera scoffed as she caught up to Littlefoot, "I was just pacing myself. You know we still have to move the tree stars up to the usual spot."

Littlefoot giggled and shed a grin, "Well we would've been there already if someone would've kept up with me instead of staying behind thinking about it, wouldn't we Cera?"

"Hey!" Cera growled, lowering her head and playfully pointing her horns at Littlefoot. "I was just thinking on a more efficient way on moving them!"

"I was just kidding," Littlefoot giggled, "I know you meant well."

Cera shook her head with a grin as she casually walked up to him.

"Yeah well don't get used to playing with me all the time," she said with a smug grin, "I get mad easily and I could hurt you."

Littlefoot stared at Cera. The remark brought an image in his head. He soon broke into a giggle, which of course didn't sit well with Cera after what she just said. She thought he didn't believe her.

"What's so funny!" She cried, kicking dirt with her left forepaw.

Littlefoot shook his head. He couldn't help but grin as he said, "Sorry about that. But you just reminded me of Rex."

"What?"

Cera narrowed her eyes. She didn't seem to like the idea of her remark reminding the Longneck of their bipedal friend. "How the heck did I just remind you of him?"

Littlefoot chuckled and said, "Well, the way you reacted after the taunt. It sounded like something Rex would've said, same playful manner, same sarcasm."

Cera scoffed, "Yeah, well, don't you _ever_ compare me to him! In fact, don't _ever_ compare me to anyone! I don't like being compared to anyone else but me, myself and I!"

Littlefoot was taken back by Cera's anger. She knew Cera could really get mad when she wanted to, but to blow a fuse over something like that? He stepped back as the glare itself would've sent any Sharptooth running.

Cera witnessed as Littlefoot kept taking slow steps away from her. She waited until Littlefoot stopped backing up to allow a grin to invade her face. She couldn't keep it in anymore. She laughed heartedly, getting a kick out of Littlefoot's reaction.

"And _that's_ my way of playing with ya!" She said with victory in her tone of voice.

It took Littlefoot a couple of seconds to realize what just happened. He groaned and hung his head. "Geez, no fair. That was way out of line."

Cera just smirked and laughed again.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," Littlefoot said as he rolled his eyes. He couldn't stay mad for long and giggled, letting Cera have this one.

"Now, how about we finally stop laughing and get over to the tree to pick up those Treestars," he said.

Littlefoot and the gang still kept their daily tradition. Every early morning they would go out to the Treestar Tree to have their morning breakfast of the Great Valley delicacy. Cera would knock them down with the powerful charges and they would have a feast as the leaves tumbled on down. It was their little thing that always made their friendship strong.

But as fun as it always was, they always mentioned how it wasn't the same without him…

"Hahah! Give me a minute!" Cera said between laughs, trying her best to stop the giggling and laughing. "Hahahah, haha…Phew, Hahahah, that was a good laugh!"

"For you it was," Littlefoot said with a giggle, "Now, let's get going."

After that they both continued on their way to the tree. Littlefoot couldn't stop thinking about him now after that little remark. In fact, Rex would never leave his thoughts.

Every night the memories of him would come back to him. Every night before he would fall asleep, and even then they still would plague him in his dreams. They would also reemerge when he laughs and plays with his friends, when he watches the flying rocks shooting across the night skies.

It became a daily thing wondering when it'll be the day Rex would come back home. He would always tell himself every morning that today would be the day he would come home. But as always he would find himself back in his nest alone with his grandparents.

Littlefoot didn't want to admit it, but he seems like he's given up hope after so long.

* * *

Yu's pack has moved on. They were out of the desert and into the forest area just beyond the cliff from where they were at last.

Rex flew himself up to the top of the trees, latching himself to the tree branches and tearing up any of the leaves he could bite into. It was still early in the morning, and the morning dew was still fresh on the leaves. Rex welcomed the moist taste of the leaves after his trip through the desert.

**Great Valley Outskirts**

"Boy, that tastes great," Rex said after swallowing the delicious green food.

He couldn't remember the last time he ate them. He was eating meat for so long he was afraid he was going to lose his appetite on green food forever.

Rex slowly descended back down onto the grass. He stretches his limbs and looked around the new territory. They were so close to the Great Valley he could practically smell the familiar scents over the walls. He debated on whether or not it would be a good idea to enter the Great Valley and visit his friends, even if for a few minutes.

He paused his thoughts as he spotted Yu, along with some of the other members of the pack by a nearby lake drinking water. He debated on taking the chance and asking the others if it'll be all right for him to step away for a little while to visit his friends. Maybe Yu could hook him up with some free time, maybe even get Yu to visit them along with him.

Rex stepped over to his friend to ask. "Hey, Yu?"

Before he could even grab the young Fast Biter's attention the whole pack was startled by a loud roar. Everyone threw their heads up to hear the incoming series of roars. They all sounded like threats, challenges.

"What…What's going on?" Rex asked as he looked around to the others.

"Can't you tell?" Yu asked as he listened. "Come on Rex, don't tell me you've forgotten all I taught you about the Fast Biters."

Rex blinked. He chuckled nervously, not even daring to admit that he has gotten a bit sloppy about his teachings.

Yu shook his head with disapproval and said, "Just listen. Keep your attention to the roars and you'll figure it out."

Rex nodded. He closed his eyes and lifted his head a bit, listening to the incoming roar. It took him a few seconds but he soon began to make sense out of the messages. And he didn't like what he was hearing.

"Oh no," Rex said.

"It's them again," Yu growled.

Rex opened his eyes. He turned around to where the roars were coming from and frowned. A lone Fast Biter was standing by the edge of the cliff, the same place they were at earlier today. One by one his number grew, and before they knew it there was a whole pack of Fast Biters behind him.

Rex recognized the pack. It was the pack that's been giving them trouble for so many Bright Circles now. They practically have a rivalry going on. Rex gulped, hoping this won't go in the direction he's expecting.

He winced as he saw Yu's father, Judah, stepping forward and answering the call. He was accepting their challenge.

"Not again," Rex sighed.

Another battle between these two packs was about to begin, and Rex and Yu's time to prove themselves in the Frontier Lines is here.


	3. Return of a friend

The bright circle is shining bright in the clear blue sky. Flyers fly about up high in the majestic sky as they go on about searching for their daily green good in this beautiful forested area. The leaves gently rustles in the breeze and others snap from their twigs and take into the sky, taking flight in the wind freely going wherever it takes them. A beautiful and peaceful place such as this could only think of one place: The Great Valley.

But not this time, for the Great Valley is miles away from this valley.

The area around this valley is quite forested, but compared to the Great Valley this one is less forested. Leaf eating dinosaurs are roaming about feeding on their most delicious delicacies, a longneck is reaching high up into a tree and ripping off a chunk from a branch and chewing it in his mouth, allowing the morning dew to drip and refresh his tongue and throat. A threehorn down below is peacefully feasting on a bush, happily sharing it with his little threehorn youngling.

Up north in the forested area lies a clearing where a beautiful lake resides, the bright circle's rays hitting on the water as it sparkles beautifully with the sun's rays. A waterfall can be seen up ahead where a chain of mountains can be spotted, this chain of mountains surround the forested residence but stop at a point, where a half a mile wide gap is between the mountains, a crescent shape chain of mountains in a more advance meaning.

"What!? Are you serious!?"

In the clearing along the outskirts of the lake lies three boulders, perfect to sit on. And sitting on them are three familiar creatures, all three of them with squared-off muzzles, a total of four talons on their feet, four claws on their paws, feathers from the forehead up their heads to the back of their necks and a pair of wings on their backs. The three of them sit with their backs turned to the lake; the one on the far left is of a green skin color, the one in the middle has a skin combination of two colors, his whole body color is black while from under his jaw down to his chest, stomach and underside of his tail is red.

"I'm serious!" The black and red humanoid dinosaur speaks with a bit of a deep voice, slumped forward with his elbows resting on his knees as he sits on a boulder. Speaking reveals his razor sharp teeth, which must be close to around having thirty teeth. "I saw them not too long ago, and they were pretty close too."

The green one blinks, scratching the back of his head while leaning back a bit. "Geez, that doesn't sound good at all…" His voice is less deep than the black one's, a bit of a high pitched tone. "Would be terrible if they got in here, eh Vlad?"

Both of the dinosaurs turn their heads to their friend, who's sitting a bit far from them. This one has a dark blue skin color with light blue under his jaw down to his chest, stomach and underside of his tail. He's staring down at the grass as his friends call him his name for his opinion of the topic they're currently chatting on, but the dinosaur doesn't respond as his beautiful navy blue eyes are glued to the grass under his feet, obvious in deep thought about something. He shifts his gaze from grass strand to strand, seeing them sway in the breeze as he continues his thoughts.

"Vlad, are you there? C'mon, wake up!"

Vlad snaps out of it and raises his head and turning it to his friends; he gulps and grins sheepishly as he notices all four eyes staring at him. He may have been zoned out, but at least he knows what the topic is about, and responds with a nod, "Yeah…" His voice is deeper than the green dinosaur's, but nowhere near of the black one's.

"But…" The green one continues, leaning a bit forward with one paw on his left knee. "Isn't it strange that they don't come here into our home and eat the leaf eaters around here? I mean, aren't they meat eaters? You know, like sharpteeth?"

The black one stands up, stretching his paws and spreading his wings apart for a stretch, then sets his gaze on his green friend.

"Kedem…These guys are smarter than those…" He slowly walks past the green one, Kedem, as he continues. "They know how to strategize, they know how to sneak around without getting seen, they're pretty much masters of hunting. They can hunt anything, and I mean anything, without as much as breaking a sweat."

Vlad and Kedem both attentively listen to their friend's words, everything he is saying about them are true, the creatures they're talking about are as smart as he says, they hunt as well as he says, they are very admirable creatures.

"They never go down easily…" He continues and stops as he walks past Vlad, giving a sigh and folding his arms. "That's why we respect their turfs, as they respect ours…"

Kedem rests both his elbows on his knees and nods at his friend's words while licking his dry lips to moist them, after all it is a pretty hot day in their valley.

"You know, I've heard different legends about the longneck biters." Kedem begins as he lifts his head up to look at Vlad and his black skinned friend, "They say they can kill adult longnecks and threehorns with one powerful swing or bite. Practically everyone who has fought against them has lost their lives almost immediately…"

"And there's another one too…" The black one continues, still his back turned to Vlad and Kedem. "A long time ago one of our own fought against one of them…Supposedly the fight lasted for as long as the bright circle stayed in the sky…"

"That long, eh?" Keden inquires.

"Yeah," The black one nods, "But in the end, it ended in a stale mate, both of them died with a traded blow to the skull."

"So in a way, that's how we both respect each other's differences and turfs, right?" Vlad adds, inquiring also.

"Well…I guess that's the reason why…" The black one shrugs while moving his gaze up to the sky. "To this day I haven't heard of anyone who has killed a longneck biter one on one…"

Kedem sits up straight, giving his back a break from its arched position. "So that's where the rumor of our kind being rivals to the longneck biters, right?"

"Uhhh…" The black one stammers, he has never asked that question before, nor heard of it. Do they actually see each other as rivals? That's why there's a huge amount of respect toward each other?

Kedem and Vlad stare at their friend, waiting an answer from him. Him being the oldest one of the group, he should at least know this one so he can inform his friends. After all his father is part of the oldest hunting group of their kind who reside in the valley, and being part of that group means you've traveled to countless regions and have heard many stories of the Mysterious Beyond and all its inhabitants.

Kedem can't help but grin at his friend's silence and decides to tease, though he has forgotten how short a tempter his friend can have. "Wow Shino, I thought you would know that one for sure."

The black dinosaur, Shino, snarls and turns around, stomping over to Kedem and pressing his snout against his, practically unintentionally threatening to snap his neck at how close Shino placed his humanoid paws to Kedem's neck from his shoulders. "Just because I'm older than you two and my dad is in the hunting class doesn't mean I know all the stories from him…"

Kedem fearfully stares at Shino's red eyes. How could he have forgotten Shino's short fuse and how easy it is to make him angry? How foolish was he to forget that little detail that could keep him from getting killed by his friend's short fuse.

He is pretty much like his father in every way; the adrenaline that could rush in his veins from the anger and how easy it is to trigger his anger. Kedem gulps loudly and grins rather fearfully at Shino, "Right…Sorry about that…"

"Heheh, calm down Shino," Vlad chuckles as he gets up and grabs Shino by the shoulders, gently pulling him away from Kedem and releasing the grip on him. "He was just teasing, no need to get yourself all angry."

Shino growls while being pulled away from Kedem. As soon as a distance is set between him and Kedem he cools down and gives off a deep sigh, closing his eyes and calming himself down.

"Right…" Shino agrees with Vlad as he opens his eyes to look at Kedem, "Then maybe this will do!?"

With a playful grin in his face Shino charges and spears right onto Kedem's stomach, knocking the wind out of the kid and knocking him back into the lake with Shino along with him. Vlad covered his face from the splash with a grin; he could've seen that coming from a mile away.

While Shino may have a short fuse and easy to anger, he doesn't hold back in making it up to someone for getting angry at them, especially if to a friend.

Kedem surfaces, spitting out some water that has found its way into his mouth, a refreshing welcome to his mouth but a bit unneeded, "Alright, that was a bit uncalled for."

Shino surfaces from behind Kedem with his back facing him, a sly grin is on the child's face as he turns around and splashes his friend, getting his attention as Shino splashes him again, this time striking his face.

"Hahah, well you should've expected something like that from me eventually." Shino grins after a third splash to Kedem and swims away, leaving Kedem wiping water and his feathers from his eyelids and glaring at Shino.

"So, this is how it's going to be, eh?" Kedem grins playfully. "Get back here then and fight like a sharptooth!"

Vlad couldn't help but chuckle as he watches his best friends chasing after each other and splashing each other's faces in the lake. If someone who watches these two without really knowing them they would for sure believe that they're brothers, with the way they tease each other, play with each other, it's like a hidden link between each other's hearts and souls.

Vlad would've loved to have a brother of his own, and then maybe his life would've been a bit more different. Vlad sighs at the thought of this, making him to sit down on the boulder and resting his elbows on his knees to stare down at the green grass as it sways in the breeze. His father has told him that even though his mother would've lived, he was never meant to have a brother. Vlad has asked him a few times if there was another egg with them before his mother died…

"_Was there another egg?"_ Vlad begins to recreate that conversation in his mind as he keeps staring down at the swaying grass.

"_No…"_ His father began to talk…

"_Are you sure? I mean, every time I'm with my friends I keep having this feeling that I-"_

His father had cut him off before he could've finished, _"I told you Vlad, there wasn't another egg before your mother died."_

Vlad sighs as he stops remembering that conversation. He has to believe his father, after all why would he lie to his only son? Vlad's mother was killed during an attack from longneck biters where they used to live.

The longneck biters were descending the mountain rage they were living in for a big hunt, and they invaded their cave and Vlad's father attacked in defense, and while Vlad and his father made it out alive his mother wasn't so fortunate. Vlad never held a grudge against the longneck biters for the death of his mother, but his father is a whole different story.

Though he was very young, Vlad still remembers this certain longneck biter that he met in that attack. She was a very mean creature, her grin sent chills down the young one's spine back then, and how she crept up to him and glared at him right in the eyes, whispering at how she was going to rip him apart before his father came in to the rescue.

Vlad turns his head over the lake as laughter breaks his train of thoughts. He snickers to himself as Kedem tries to dunk Shino underwater and trying to wrestle him to submission. But it won't work; Shino is the oldest and practically the strongest. Kedem is a bit on the chubby side so Shino might have a little bit of a problem to get him to submit.

The two seem to be having plenty of fun, and Vlad would've joined them if it wasn't for the fact that many worries are invading his mind. Like what his father has been doing these past few days that have kept him so busy and almost always away from home; why the longneck biters are acting up and so far away from their original home.

Vlad looks up at the sky, still remembering that longneck biter that almost got him a long time ago. That malicious grin, the threats she whispered to him, everything about her that made him tremble…And her name…

Though he was young, Vlad still remembers that longneck biter's name…And how she whispered it to him before the supposed killing blow.

"Axel…"

* * *

The Toviel pack stand in the plains just outside the forested field they were just resting in, glaring toward the desert almost half a mile away as a fast biter pack glares back at them from on top of a mesa in the desert.

Rex stands alongside Yu near the front of the pack as they both too glare back at the opposing herd. He gulps as his heart begins to beat rapidly against his chest. He fully knows the pack they're dealing with here; it's the same pack that the Toviel pack dealt with a year ago, the pack of the two fast biters that started all this mess.

The pack they're dealing with is called the Sodom pack, and they seem to mean business.

"Backer Lines, in position!" Judah roars out, and like reflex the Backer Lines line up behind him and in front of the young ones of the pack, setting up the line of defense for them.

A good line of defense and speed to keep the attackers on their toes and occupied, primarily a way to protect the hatchlings and female fast biters until the Middle Lines come in to take care of the attackers.

"Frontier Lines, in position!" Judah roars out next, and as expected the pack obeys so and every Frontier Line soldier gets into position.

Wanting to do their best on their first battle in the Frontier Lines Rex and Yu were practically the first ones to get into position as told; these two buddies have seen the Frontier Lines getting in position for a long time now and have memorized where to be and how to be in position.

"You ready?" Yu asks his winged dinosaur friend as he eyes the opposing pack. They've gotten in position and ready to spring into action at any moment, but like any fast biters in this region they watch and wait for the first move to be thrown before they go in for the offense.

"I guess so…" Rex nods, flexing out his claws and crunching down a bit into his fighting position, a position he has found strategically good to be in for a quick result when going off for a run or sprint.

An eerie silence has fallen between these two packs, they stare at each other at a distance and waiting for the first move before another war between these two packs begins anew.

Rex curses under his breath, why do they insist on fighting them time and time again? This dang feud started a year ago when they first clashed claws because of Bull, because of the power of one these two packs are tied in a long running feud that seems it won't end until one of them is entirely wiped out.

The silence is broken when the leader of the Sodom pack roars out the order and the whole pack charges down the mesa into the desert and toward the plains where the Toviel pack reside. Rex and Yu gasp at the multitude of fast biters in the opposing pack; they have gotten more recruits since last time they fought against them.

Judah roars out and soon the Frontier Line squad charge in for the offense, leaving Rex and Yu behind as they both were stunned by the multitude of the opposing pack, but soon they regain their composure and with a deep breath charge in along with the others; the time is now to prove themselves.

"Fight together?" Yu inquires to Rex as they charge in for the attack.

"Well," Rex begins, "Sounds like a good idea, better cover for the both of us."

Glancing at each other they already know they decided on just that. Roars and snarls can be heard as the two packs charge into each other and after what seemed like an eternity the two packs meet and claws and teeth fly about in another confrontation between these two packs.

One fast biter of the Toviel side quickly charges in and bites on his opponent's neck, breaking the neck with a swift twist.

Another fast biter of the Toviel side tackles an enemy down and lifts a foot to severe the opponent's spine, but an ally from the Sodom side pounces him down and sinking his talons into the fast biter's chest with the pounce alone, shredding the chest open and nearly dealing in an instant kill.

More roars and snarls fly about in the sky between the desert and the plains as the fight ensues. Two fast biters from the Toviel side tackle down a group of Sodom fast biters who were ganged up on a Toviel, thus saving his life and taking down some enemies during the process.

Rex jumps back to avoid a bite from an enemy fast biter and then charges in with claws outstretched, piercing into the enemy's skin and tearing it open horizontally, forcing the opponent to roar out in agony as it backs away and soon die of fatal bleeding.

Rex cringes at the sight of blood; it is a sight he has yet to get used to especially seeing it ooze out from something that's still alive.

Rex suddenly turns and almost screams as one fast biter lunges at him and tackles him to the ground. He grunts as his body slams unto the hard soil, and he needs to move fast for as being on the ground is never a safe place to stay when fighting against fast biters.

He opens his eyes and gasps to see a bunch of razor sharp teeth diving right at him! In a quick reaction Rex holds out his paws and grasps at the fast biter's head, pushing with all his might to keep the enemy's jaw from clamping down onto his head, but to his dismay the fast biter's strength seems greater than his and the jaws are getting ever closer onto Rex's head.

"Grrr…Get off of me!" Rex complains, finally thinking of lifting his feet up and kicking them against the fast biter's abdomen and flipping him off of him, then quickly rolling over and once again receive an attack from the same fast biter. Rex jumps aside and pounces, wrapping his jaw around his opponent'ss neck and squeezing tightly, sinking his teeth deep into the enemy's neck and killing him.

"Phew…" Rex sighs as he lets go of the fast biter. "So far so good…" But just when he turns around to continue he freezes to see himself surrounded by 3 enemies fast biters, the kid forgot to watch his back during this one. "Aw great…"

One fast biter snarls and goes for the killing pounce but an ally from the Toviel side tackles him down before he could get a chance, but two remain. Luckily, the deal these two have done was kept and Yu springs into the scene, jumping on a fast biter and snapping its neck with a well placed bite and tackling the second one down, stabbing his curved talon into the enemy's chest.

"Phew, thanks Yu." Rex grins at his friend in relief only to receive a headbutt from Yu afterwards, causing the kid to yelp in surprise and stepping back while clutching his forehead. "Ow! What was that for!?"

"For letting yourself open like that." Yu answers with a soft glare, but as forgiving as he is he chuckles and lets the glare go with a shake of his head. "Anyway, this time we'll fight together."

Two enemy fast biters charge at them both, their jaws wide open and claws ready to shred them apart as they drool in anticipation. As they run straight toward them the two friends could see it in their eyes that they meant business, probably two of the toughest fast biters from the Sodom pack.

"Heads up!" Rex cries as he takes a step back.

He waits for his enemy to come in and then use his wings to make a high jump over the fast biter. He then makes a swift turn and slam his tail against the fast biter's side while Yu charges in and takes the preemptive strike with a lowered head and ramming it against his enemy's chest, knocking him back and allowing Yu to dive down and bite into the fast biter's neck. With a twist he breaks its neck.

"Hahah, not bad," Rex grins as he jumps back from his attacker and practically stand back to back with Yu, "Been a while since I last saw you fight."

"Well, we have been through a long time without another fight with this pack." Yu acknowledges as he eyes the battles around him, looking for any opportunities to break through and regroup with his pack.

The Frontier Lines seem to be holding up pretty well, so far there are no casualties done to his pack, perhaps a few serious injuries but no death toll yet. But when in a fight against fast biters, this could change drastically in seconds. And that theory has just been proven as Rex and Yu get surrounded by a number of fast biters from the Trodom pack.

"What the?" Yu gasps as the total of about seven of them surround him and Rex.

All seven of them huddled together around them leaving no gaps of escape. And just by looking around, their allies being distracted by the other Sodom pack fast biters to even notice this, Yu can easily tell that he and Rex have been caught in their trap.

"A trap!" Yu hissed.

Rex looks left and right at all the fast biters surrounding him and Yu, gulping at the situation. "So, how many of them you think you can take?"

"I'll say about two, and that's barely." Yu admits, looking worried and a bit scared from their situation.

That would leave behind five to take care of, but not even Rex and Yu's combined effort could take them all on at once. Like Yu said, he could barely take two on, and Rex might be able to take down two more before the three remaining would pick them off one by one.

They need to think of a plan.

But the time of thinking is now over, and the fast biters close in on the two youths before opening their jaws and charging in for a pounce.

Rex and Yu have been through tough times in the past, but chances are they won't squeeze through this one.

Rex and Yu hold out their paws out with eyes closed, bracing themselves for the pounce and shred that they will surely receive in a matter of seconds.

"This is it…" Yu whispers.

A zoom is heard around them and soon after a few snarls and roars of pain. A break in the wind is felt as if someone stood in front of it and swings something massive through it.

Rex and Yu never felt a pounce fall upon them, and confused they open their eyes to see all but one fast biter have disappeared. Rex tilts his head in confusion at the fast biter as it snarls at something, and just like that a huge jaw is clamped shut around its body, killing it instantly.

"Whoa…" Rex whispers as he looks up at what just killed the fast biter, his eyes following the body as it is lifted up and swallowed down the throat of what appears to be a massive sharptooth.

The king of meat eaters as the leaf eaters refers them as, a 15 feet tall sharptooth with dangerous razor sharp teeth that matches their dangerous attitudes.

This sharptooth Rex and Yu are looking up at has dark green skin with a normal green color from the underside of its neck down to its tail, the sharptooth's sclera is red and the iris is completely black, short arms with two claws and strong legs with three claws and one talon, clearly a sharptooth, and male too by the looks of it.

"It's Chomper's dad!" Yu cries in relief, glad the sharptooth saved them in the nick of time.

"You two OK!?" A familiar voice asks from behind them. The voice is a bit deeper from how Rex and Yu remember it, but the two of them recognize it perfectly like if it hasn't aged a bit.

"Chomper!" Rex happily exclaims as he turns around to face him, but as a shock he stops mid-way the moment his eyes see him.

Indeed it's Chomper, but the little sharptooth has grown! That little sharptooth they've met a year ago has practically grown at least 3 feet from the last time they've seen each other. Chomper's eye level now reach Rex's chest, if not the shoulders. Not to mention a vast improvement in the sharpness of his claws and teeth, the cute sharptooth from before has grown into a formidable hunter, and Rex and Yu are already developing a fear toward him.

"Geez…You've grown…" Yu acknowledges as his eyes travel up and down Chomper's body, acknowledging how much his friend has changed.

"Heheh!" Chomper chuckles, his voice sounding a bit deeper, "You have grown quite a bit the same," He smiles at Yu before moving his gaze over at Rex, "But…You seem to be quite the same."

"Hey!" Rex glares and crosses his arms, "I've had my share of growing up too."

Chomper chuckles, "I was just kidding, you do look bigger than last time."

Rex grins and opens his mouth to talk until three fast biters set their eyes on them. The gang can sense the glares on them and turn around to face them. Chomper's parents moved out to help out the rest of Judah's pack and relief some tension on the more intense areas.

Plus these are just three fast biters, one for each of the three friends.

The fast biters charge in for the attack. Yu jumps aside avoiding a bite and swings his tail against the fast biter's face and quickly following it up with a bite into the enemy's neck and tearing a chunk of the neck, standard fast biter killing method if not severing the spine.

While Yu takes care of him Chomper glares and growls at his opponent, bracing himself the moment he sees the fast biter charging right at him. He charges with his jaw open, but Chomper has been taught at how to fight against one the last time he was with Yu's pack. He growls and lowers his head, takes one step back while rearing his head to the side and at the right moment he rams his head forward, striking a devastating headbutt to the fast biter's head and knocking him down to the ground. He will try to get up, but only to receive his end with Chomper sending his foot down on the fast biter's neck moments later.

As for Rex, the kid ducks as the fast biter lunges for a bite and with a swing of his claws Rex slashes deeply into his opponent's chest. The fast biter snarls in pain and backs away, but Rex gets up and proceeds in with a tackle, sending his opponent down to the ground. The fast biter snarls in frustration, slowly gets up and tries again for another attack. Rex growls and starts on his own charge to finish off…

A loud, deafening roar breaks through the noises of the battle and through the hearing of every dinosaur in the area. A roar so loud that causes Rex to stop his charge, "Huh…?"

Rex stares dumbfounded as all the fast biters of the Sodom pack stops their offensive attacks and thrown their heads to the sky. Even the fast biter Rex was charging at also has stopped and is now gazing up at the sky.

"What's going on?" Yu shifts his gaze back and forth, shocked to see the fight stop all so suddenly by just a roar in the distance.

Chomper is also confused by this, but if he really is he doesn't let it show as he calmly looks around eyeing the paralyzed fast biters. Chomper has also grown up in terms of his personality and focus, he can still be a playful sharptooth but also a serious hunter when the time requires it.

Suddenly the leader of the Sodom pack roars out an order and his whole pack moves out, leaving behind their targets and heading off back into the desert from where the Toviel pack came from.

Though one fast biter from the Sodom pack in specific runs from the opposite direction his pack was running from and charging right at Rex. The boy suspects an attack and braces himself. However the fast biter just runs past him and heads into the woods behind him.

Rex, Chomper and Yu stare at the fast biter as it just runs past them, not even a look or snarl from it.

"Ummm…Okay…?" Yu mutters, his gaze following the fast biter as it disappears into the woods.

It would've been a perfect time to relax from the fight too until Judah, Yu's father, roars out an order to the three sharptooth friends. "Rex, Yu, hunt him down!"

"What?" Rex protests, "Just as the fight ends he wants us to follow that egghead? I'm beat!"

Yu rolls his eyes and roars a confirmation at his father before turning tail and run toward the woods after the fast biter. Rex and Chomper look at each other before nodding to one another and follow Yu's example and run off toward the woods.

And it didn't take long for them to find the fast biter's tracks.

The tracks have led them deep into the woods. The gang keeps their eyes open and hearing at a maximum to watch for any ambushes and sneak attacks. They also travel close together to avoid any surprises and back attacks.

Rex looks around the woods as some sunlight shines through between the tree branches and leaves from up above, the scenery alone reminding Rex of his adventure last year around these parts, where he was reunited with Littlefoot and the others and taking shelter in a cave until the rest of the Toviel pack. That is, until Kumo showed up and made a dilemma between them.

"This area brings back memories…" Rex comments as he stops to look around, "It reminds me of when we first met Kumo, how he tricked you guys into thinking it was me that turned on you guys," Rex laughs a bit as he remembers that incident, "Remember?"

Chomper chuckles, "How could I forget? I was probably the first one to jump into that conclusion."

Yu smiles, his mind time traveling back to that period in time as well. "Heheh, I got mad at Chomper and the others for even thinking of that. And to tell you the truth I almost jumped into that conclusion myself until Kumo showed up and made us realize the truth."

Rex laughs as he places his paws at the back of his head, grinning widely as more memories flow back to him, "And to think you guys really thought I would hurt my friends."

The trio looks at each other and suddenly burst into laughter. Sure it was a serious situation back then, but now thinking about it just brings laughter into them.

"And also," Rex begins again between laughter as he clutches his stomach from all the laughter he's going through right now, "The way you guys looked- Hahahah- After that hunt when I- Hahahah- I…I…" But the kid stops after opening his eyes, spotting a cave behind Chomper and Yu where a set of tracks lead to.

Chomper and Yu notice the look on Rex's face and they slowly stop laughing, arching an eyebrow at the sharptooth, "Umm…You alright?" Yu inquires.

"Look," Rex points out, "The tracks are leading into that cave."

Chomper and Yu turn around to face the cave Rex mentioned. The cave opening is pretty narrow to allow one dinosaur to fit through at a time, high enough of an opening for Rex to go in without crouching down too. The entry however, tunnels into a wall of mountains, the Great Valley's mountain barrier to be exact. Rex figures this out and gasps, his mind quickly racing back to his friends back in the valley: Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Spike, and Petrie…

"You don't think he…?" Rex couldn't finish his question, he's afraid of the answer that they might reply with. Chomper and Yu can see the look on Rex's face; they can tell he's worried about this turn of events.

Chomper smiles a bit at Rex, "Don't worry…I'm sure this cave can't-" A roar from inside the cave echoes out to them, startling the trio in facing the cave's entrance.

"…Can't lead to-" But as Chomper tries to continue another roar echoes out. And just when Chomper opens his mouth again to finish what he started another roar echoes out, this one, however, sounded like a painful roar.

The trio stares at the entrance for another roar, but silence settled in the cave. For a few minutes the trio didn't dare to move, but they couldn't stand like that forever, they have a task from Yu's father to complete.

"Alright," Rex sighs, turning his head to his friends. "Let's go in."

Chomper and Yu turn their heads to Rex; all three of them look at each other and nod…


	4. The legends are true

Rex was first to enter the cave, then Chomper then Yu. The cave starts out pretty narrow, but the deeper they get the tunnel slowly opens up.

The cave isn't much to look around in; the roof is 2 feet above Rex's head with no stalactites to look up at. Rex ponders what could really be at the end of this tunnel, it shouldn't lead to inside the Great Valley just like that, there's gotta be a catch somewhere in this cave, otherwise any Sharpteeth would just waddle in and get into the Great Valley. But then again, some Sharpteeth, including those two fast biters Zill and Bull, have managed to get into the valley somehow.

The trio continues their way through the tunnel, the warm illumination the entrance give them slowly diminishing as they venture deeper and deeper, the walls slowly but surely expanding the deeper they get to at one point allowing two of them to walk side by side. Rex, while his vision is pretty good, has some trouble seeing pitch black areas. He squints a bit to see where they are going, barely making out some pebbles and rocks in the way, he'd have to wait for a while until his vision adjusts to the darkness. "Any of you guys see anything?"

"A little…" Chomper replies with a rather calm tone, "I'm still adjusting to the darkness, but I can see where I'm going…Now that it's hard to navigate through a tunnel."

"What about you, Yu?"

"I'm doing alright."

The trio slowly navigates down the dark tunnel, feeling their way through the tunnel by touching the walls until their eyes adjust to the darkness in the cave, getting nervous and frightened with each step they take into the unknown. Rex takes a deep breath as his heart begins to race. He dreads pitch black areas so much, he always tries to avoid them whenever possible in fear of bumping into something he cannot see and either end up killed if it's dangerous or frightened out of his mind. He recalls one time when something similar happened. He was in a cave with Yu and accidentally got separated from him and ended up in a pitch black area, and it wasn't until his vision adjusted to the darkness did he spotted what he thought was an adult Spiketail charging his way and swinging its massive tail to attack the Sharptooth. Rex got away without a scratch, but he was scared out of his mind that he literarily vowed never to come into another pitch black cavern. Unfortunately, he is in one right now.

"Rex, watch it!" Chomper cries out.

But Rex was zoned out; it took a sharp sting to his toes to snap him back into reality. His foot tripped on a rock and tripped him forward. Rex yelped at the sharp pain to his toes and tripped forward, and to his surprise and shock his body hit no ground but a hill, letting the kid to go down in a roll down the hill. Rex grunts as his body rolls down and bumps with rocks and boulders, and at one point he cries out in pain as while rolling something scrapes his left bicep and probably imbeds itself in his arm. The pain so sharp and intense that led Rex into believing that he was impaled on a stalagmite, but to his relief he's still rolling down the hill and coming to a stop at the base, where he painfully rolls into something and numerous debris fall and bury him under, sending more pain through the dinosaur's body.

"Rex!!" Chomper and Yu cry out in unison as they race down the hill after their friend, "Are you alright!?"

Rex was far from OK. His humanoid paw emerges from under the debris as the kid pulls himself out of it, his head popping out next and then his torso. "Guh…Yeah…I'm alright…I think…" He looks up to see a hole high up in the roof illuminating the cave. More than one actually, the whole roof is riddled with holes here and there illuminating this chamber.

Rex painfully pulls himself out of the little hill of debris and sits on top of it, breathing heavily catching his breath from that roll down the hill, only to wince and look at his left arm, whatever he rolled into it imbedded itself into his bicep. He grabs it and slowly pulls it out of his bicep, growling in pain as he sharply closes his eyes, waiting for the pain to subside before opening his eyes again and looks down at Chomper and Yu. "Guess I gotta watch where I'm…Going?"

Chomper and Yu are in shock, terrified at what they see. They're not even looking at Rex, just looking at the little hill of debris he's on top of. "Guys…?" Rex is starting to get scared himself; his friends are not even bothering at glancing at him. "What are you guys…?" It wasn't until Rex looks down at what he's on top of that he realizes what's scaring them. His eyes widen and he jumps off of it, using his wings to slowly land alongside Chomper and Yu for a better look at this.

Bones…Bones of different dinosaurs…A little hill composed of nothing but bones. Skulls, rib cages, jaw bones, tail bones, and any kind of bones the dinosaur body is composed off. The trio looks around the chamber, seeing more and more bones scattered around the ground, literarily thousands of bones scattered in the chamber, giving the trio the idea of this chamber being a graveyard.

**Skeleton Graveyard**

"Whoa…" Chomper awes.

"I've never seen so many bones in my life…" Yu comments, overwhelmed at the number of bones scattered in this room.

"Me neither…" Rex adds, clutching his stomach as he feels like getting sick from seeing so many bones in one area. He looks at the item he pulled out of his bicep which he still holds in his humanoid paws, discovering that it wasn't a sharp rock that hurt him but a disembodied claw, similar to a Sickleclaw's talon. Disgusted, Rex throws it away into the hill of bones, triggering another reaction and collapsing the hill down. The trio quickly backs away as the bones nearly touch their feet, not wanting to get slipped or sucked into the slide.

Yu gulps as he feels a chill go up his spine as the collapse reveals more skulls, most of them from Sickleclaws. He wants out, now! "Umm…Maybe we should get out of here."

Chomper nods, he himself also disturbed by this chamber, "Yeah, I'm not looking forward in meeting whoever collected all these bones."

The trio nod, neither of them wants to meet whoever collected all these. Whoever collected these must've lived for a very long time to collect these many bones, or maybe it has a very sick and twisted sense of humor. They weren't sticking to find out though. Chomper and Yu turn tail and jog back to the hill to climb and head back outside, but as they set foot on the hill they notice they're one head short. Desiring to get out of there as soon as possible, they quickly look over their shoulders to call Rex to hurry up, but they keep their mouths shut. Rex seems to be looking at something in the rubble of bones, curiously might they add. "Rex?"

Rex blinks a few times as he stares at a skull at the base of his feet. The shape of the skull, the position of its eye sockets, the remaining teeth in its jaw, it's all too familiar somehow. It tickles his curiosity at how much it has caught his attention. A mental picture as if he's looking at his own face as he stares at the skull. Rex crouches down to the skull for a closer look. He questions himself why he's so curious at a skull of a dinosaur that is no more, why it would look familiar to him.

"Rex, c'mon!" Yu cries out to him, snatching the kid's attention away from the skull. "We gotta go, now!"

Rex nods and gets up. He heads toward Chomper and Yu until something on top of the hill gets his attention, something moving. Rex could not see what it is, but he can tell it's going to trip down the hill and land on Chomper and Yu. He points out and shouts, "Guys, look out!"

Chomper and Yu turn their heads up in time to see the figure tripping and rolling down the hill. The two scream and run away from the base of the hill to escape from its path and regroup with Rex to brace themselves for the surprise. The body lands and flops onto the ground, the holes on the roof illuminating the body and catching the trio off guard. The body is none other than the Sickleclaw they were after…Or what's left of him. The creature was heavily chomped on, its neck has been torn out, and blood is still dripping and staining the soil. It must've been killed when they heard the roars when outside the cave, and whoever did the kill knew exactly how to make the kill.

"Oh man…" Rex winces as he looks at the Sickleclaw's wounds; most of them weren't enough to make the kill. The killer must've toyed with this Sharptooth.

"Not bad for a first kill, eh?"

The trio raises their heads to the opening above to the hill. They spot what looks like a Longneck, but its elongated neck seems thicker and not dramatic like the ordinary Longnecks. The creature's face is also different than a Longneck. A mouth similar of that of a Longneck's but its muzzle pointing downward slightly and a nose at the tip of its muzzle. Their eyes are larger in porportation to the head than a Longneck's while it has four sharp talons on its front paws, and its legs look muscular.

The creature jumps down the hill to the body, placing one of its front paws on the body as it grins at the trio, revealing his razor sharp teeth, clearly not a Longneck, as if the noticeable differences in plain eyesight weren't enough evidence. Another Evidence are the long feathers along the back of its neck, and now that they see the creature's full body they can see it has a tail, thinner than a Longneck's. And of course, its body is not as fat as Longneck's, a bit similar but muscular. Though what really stands out on this Longneck Biter is the scar on its shoulder, a scar shaped like the letter X.

The trio couldn't help but back away from the creature, they don't dare to stay close to this creature, for this is the first time they see a dinosaur like this. Clearly this is not a Longneck they're facing here. Granted, they don't see this creature as dangerous as a Sharptooth or Sickleclaw, but they know better than to underestimate creatures they see for the first time, leaf eater or not.

"What's wrong?" The creature grins, his eyes narrow as an evident taunt to the kids and speaking in a rather low and taunting voice. "Haven't you three seen a Longneck Biter before?"

They stop and look at each other. Longneck Biter? Is that what that creature is? Rex's eyes suddenly widen. Of course! He has heard countless rumors and legends about the Longneck Biters when he used to live in the Great Valley. Rumors about a group of Sharpteeth that protects and guard the valley for as long as they can remember…But, they were just rumors, there was no evidence that they existed, everyone thought those stories were just made up. But, they are seeing a Longneck Biter right now! So the rumors must be true…

"Of course…" Rex whispers, turning his head to Chomper and Yu and grinning at them. "I forgot all about them!" Chomper and Yu look at Rex all confused, but Rex could only grin at them and continue as he turns his head to the Longneck Biter in front of them.

"Your kind is the one who protect the Great Valley from the Sharpteeth from going over the mountain. Back when I lived in there I used to hear all kinds of rumors and legends about your kind. But I didn't know your kind really existed."

The Longneck Biter grins, "Oh no, we're real alright. And like you said my kind does protect the Great Valley from the intruders." He suddenly sends his jaw down and clamps it shut on the raptor's neck, ripping off the remaining chunk from its neck and chews on it lustfully, swallowing it down and licking the blood off its muzzle. He did it in such a fantastic motion that it even impressed Chomper; it takes skills and a good aim to practically rip off what remains of the neck in such a motion.

"But I digress." All of a sudden he bears his teeth at the trio and takes a threatening step forward, making the gang jump and back away cautiously.

"Whoa, hold on there." Rex holds his humanoid paws up defensively, "We're not trying to invade the valley or anything. We were just looking for that Sickleclaw you killed, we don't want any trouble."

"Yeah," Yu nods while grinning nervously at the Longneck Biter, "So if you'll excuse us we'll be going now."

"Not a chance, pipsqueak!" The Longneck Biter quickly pounces at the gang, missing them as the gang narrowly dodges the attack. He turns around with a snarl and faces the trio. "You three aren't going anywhere!"

"Aw c'mon," Rex complains as he stands in his usual fighting position, ready to fight back if they have no choice. "We didn't mean to get into your home here."

"I don't think he's angry about that," Chomper informs as he backs away from the Alimon to stand alongside Rex, "He's picking a fight, either he's hungry or he's psychotic."

Yu snarls and lowers his body. "Then I say let's give him one."

Yu charges in to the Longneck Biter with a growl and lunges for a bite, but the Longneck Biter skillfully jumps aside and, with a powerful whip of his tail, strikes Yu's ribs with it and topples the Sickleclaw to the ground.

Chomper joins in and opens his jaw to bite into the Longneck Biter's tail. But the Longneck Biter is too sly and quick for that, he lifts his tail up to avoid the bite, turns and head butts the Sharptooth away.

Yu gets up and runs in to ram against the Longneck Biter. The tactic works but he is too strong to get rammed down, instead he just falls down on his side and quickly recovers to slash across Yu's face with his sharp talons. The young Sickleclaw roars in pain and backs away as he shakes his head, blood slowly trickling down the cuts and dripping to the ground.

Rex goes in and jumps to land a downward slash on the Longneck Biter's back, but he is quickly knocked away as the Longneck Biter jumps aside and raises his hind legs and kicks the humanoid dinosaur away.

Chomper goes for a bite to the Longneck Biter's neck but the attack misses, leaving himself open for the Longneck Biter to slam his tail against the Sharptooth's head, jarring the child's mind and toppling him down to the ground.

"Unbelievable…" Rex mutters to himself at how much trouble they're having taking down the Longneck Biter, on a one on three fight.

Rex gets up and charges in to the Longneck Biter, his humanoid paws ready to attack, but the next thing to happen completely surprises him. The Longneck Biter faces him and rises up on his hind legs, on his HIND LEGS. And without any trouble at all the Longneck Biter locks his front paws with Rex's humanoid paws.

Rex's expression is that of complete surprise and horror, but he quickly gets serious and pushes against the Longneck Biter to topple him down, but this Longneck Biter has supreme control when it comes to standing on his hind legs. The Longneck Biter pushes against Rex and clearly has the upper hand, the power making the kid to lean back from the overwhelming force, clearly losing this test of strength.

"You know," The Longneck Biter starts as he stares into Rex's dark blue eyes. "I too have heard stories about your kind."

Rex's glare softens. "My kind?" He echoes. Does this Longneck Biter know about his kind?

"Yes, your kind." The Longneck Biter rolls his eyes, unable to believe this kid is oblivious about his own kind. "I've heard countless times how my kind and yours are treated as equals, and rivals. How our strongest Longneck Biter in history fought with the strongest of your kind and the fight ended in a stalemate. But c'mon!" The Longneck Biter snarls at Rex's face as he continues. "I thought you would be harder than this! You're a joke!"

Rex growls, of all the things he hates to be treated as a joke, as nothing. A year ago a certain Sharptooth did the same and cost him his life, and now it seems it's going to cost THIS one's life too.

Rex knows the Longneck Biter can't escape from his attack, he opens his snout and, with his own razor sharp teeth, he lunges his face forward to bite into the Longneck Biter's face. But as he forgot, the Longneck Biter's neck is longer than Rex's, and the Longneck Biter safely pulls his head back, letting Rex's mouth to clamp down on nothing but air.

He could laugh right now. "And even your kind knows that doesn't work!"

As payback for that try the Longneck Biter lunges his head forward and open his snout, clamping his mouth shut over Rex's muzzle. Rex's eyes widen from the tremendous pain as the razor sharp teeth clamp down over his muzzle. He closes his eyes sharply as the pain sinks in and he tries to open his mouth for that wail of agony, but the Longneck Biter has his mouth shut so tightly that not even that he could do.

After what seemed like an eternity for Rex the Longneck Biter opens his mouth and releases Rex's muzzle, pushing him down to the ground and going down on all four, lustfully licking the blood from his teeth. "Heh, so this is how your kind's blood tastes like."

Rex lies on the ground on his stomach, clutching his bleeding muzzle as whispers escape from his mouth. He has heard countless times how a muzzle should never be bitten on as it's the place where the most pain is suffered, and Rex just happened to confirm that suspicion.

The Longneck Biter chuckles as he approaches Rex, "Man! What a disappointment. But, I guess it's not your fault, seeing that you probably don't even know about your own kind."

The Longneck Biter was about to step on Rex's back until Chomper and Yu tackle him down aside, standing in front of Rex to protect him.

Yu growls, "Don't you make another move!"

The Longneck Biter quickly gets up and turns to the trio. Clearly they are all tired. Hurt and tired. They tried to go up against an Longneck Biter and so far they've done quite badly, especially on a one against three odd. It's their sudden lack of teamwork. They all tried to attack from all sides every attacker for themselves.

And while a good tactic to keep the prey guessing and having to worry about three predators, it's a tactic that does not work well against an Longneck Biter, and the trio has just learned that.

The Longneck Biter shakes his head at the trio, "Or what? You three have barely touched me. You're just lucky it's only me who you guys have to worry about."

Yu blinks and winces at a thought. "You mean there are more of you here?"

The Longneck Biter picks his teeth and look at Yu. "Oh yeah, there are more of me." Suddenly as if on cue a roar echoes through the chamber, and it sure sounded close. "And looks like you'll get to meet some more right now."

Chomper and Yu gulp as the roars get louder and more threatening. They had one heck of a time against one Longneck Biter, and now it seems they'll get to meet his friends.

Rex has finally gone up on one knee as another roar booms through the chamber, this time some shadows showing up on the chamber walls and coming over to their direction. The Longneck Biter in front of the gang takes a few steps toward the direction the roars are coming from and bows his head in respect to the approaching ones.

Rex, Chomper and Yu found themselves staring in horror as three Longneck Biters turn the corner and approach them; curiously all three of them have a scar in shape of an X on their left shoulders. Two of them have the same feathers along the back of their necks as the Longneck Biter the trio went up against, but one of them, the largest of the three, has downy fur-like feathers on the back of the neck.

"Well well well," The one to the right of the largest Alimon speaks, "Seems like you found a little group of intruders."

"They must be part of Donovan's pack!" The one to the left of the largest Longneck Biter snaps, "Look at the kid with the wings, part of Donovan's alliance with the ones in Crescent Valley!"

"I found them after disposing the Sickleclaw," The Longneck Biter who fought with the kids reports. He glances at the trio behind him and looks up at the largest Longneck Biter in the middle. "What should we do to them?"

The largest Longneck Biter eyes at Chomper and Yu, but immediately her eyes freeze on Rex, who in return blinks and gulps. She is yellow with brown stretching from her nose to the tip of her tail and red violet stretching from her top lip, across her belly and chest, and to about midway on her tail. Her claws are red, and her eyes are light blue against normal shade of blue.

She couldn't help but grin at Rex, for just looking at him stirred a forgotten memory in her head. "Oh this is invaluable!" She laughs and snarls at the kids, that psychotic look on her face as she looks at them. "Kill them. But leave the omnivore to die a slow and painful death!"

The trio gasps and back away from the Longneck Biter as they approach them. They can't possibly fight back and come out on top; they're tired and wounded from the last night. And if they didn't fare well with just one, what makes them think they'll be able to fight against four of them.

Rex gives off a heavy sigh of pain as he clutches his muzzle with one humanoid paw, the sting still unbearable. It bleeds very badly as the blood drips to the ground, his own blood seeping in through his lips and letting him have a taste of his own blood, a taste he gets rarely.

Yu and Chomper are practically pressing their backs against the wall. They're cornered like children Duckbills about to be eaten by a Bellydragger in the dark corner of its cave.

"I guess…This is it…" Chomper announces to his friends with a worried tone in his voice, "It was great knowing you guys."

Rex growls and grunts from the wound on his muzzle, "Guh…This can't end like this…"

Chomper and Yu feel a rumble under their feet, like something giving way. "What the…?" Yu looks down and before they could say anything about it the ground under them give way and the two Sharptooth fall through.

Rex jumps from their screams. He quickly turns only to realize he is alone, and now that he looks down he sees the hole.

"Oh no!" Rex kneels down and looks down the hole, but the pathway below is too dark to see anything down there, he can't even see the hole. "Chomper!! Yu!!"

"I wouldn't worry about them."

Rex looks over his shoulders to see the Longneck Biters practically over him, but in reality they're just 5 feet away from him, all four of them ready to make the killing pounce.

The female grins at him and informs him about his friends' fate, "That hole just leads to the underground river below where the river ends up outside our caves." She motions a paw and like reflex one of the Longneck Biter lunge forward and stand over the hole, pushing Rex away from it and closer to the Longneck Biters.

Rex hits the ground with an 'oof,' only to raise his head and face the female Longneck Biter right in the face. "But I'd say they're the least of your worries…"

Rex slowly gets up and glances back and forth; he doesn't stand a chance alone against them.

"Sic' him."

One Longneck Biter lunges, pouncing Rex down to the ground. Rex pushes him off and quickly gets up but an Longneck Biter slashes at his legs. Rex wails in pain and drops forward on his knees only to receive a quick slash across his face.

"Gaaahh!!" Rex drops onto his side and slowly gets up but one Longneck Biter charges in and clamps his teeth on Rex's arm, sinking his razor sharp teeth deep into the arm. Rex wails and with his other arm he slashes across the Longneck Biter's muzzle, forcing him to let the kid go with a snarl. Rex slowly picks himself up, but in his dazed state one Longneck Biter charges in and slashes across Rex's chest.

"Gyaaaaaahh!!!" Rex falls backwards unto his back to the ground, blood staining the ground and his dark blue body. But Rex doesn't give up; he picks himself up again and growls at the Longneck Biters. But as his face shows, the kid is quite tired and in deep pain.

One Longneck Biter charges in for a bite, but Rex jumps and with the use of his wings he propels himself up and uses his feet to kick the Longneck Biter away, the claws on his toes to wound him. The attack connects, but one Longneck Biter jumps onto a pile of bones and jumps off of it and tackles the kid out of the air and smacking his body against the wall.

At that point Rex gives up; he lets his body drop onto the ground, landing on his stomach.

The Longneck Biters have done a number on him, and even if he survives the wounds he would be out of commission for quite some time. But these Longneck Biters aren't showing any mercy, and Rex knows it…Just as he knows a Longneck Biter is towering over him right now with his paw up in the air ready for the killing blow…

"Stop right there," The female Longneck Biter declares as she approaches her partner and the wounded Rex, "He's mine to kill…"

The male Longneck Biter looks at her, "Aw c'mon, let me kill this one! He fought against me so badly that I _want_ to put him out of his miseries!"

"No!" The female Longneck Biter snarls at him as she presses her muzzle against his, "He's mine!"

The male Longneck Biter growls, but he slowly sets his paw down to the ground and backs away, letting the female Longneck Biter to finish Rex off.

She can't help but grin as she looks down at the beaten up Rex, his grunts and groans of pain are music to her ears. She lowers her head to Rex and tenderly nuzzles the kid, but not in sympathy or mercy but merely toying with him.

"For some reason this seems familiar to me…" She licks blood off of Rex's face for a taste, "Ah yes…Her…"

Rex slowly opens one eye, what is this Longneck Biter saying? Who 'Her' is she talking about?

"Ahhh, but time to move on…" She slowly opens her mouth and softly shuts it around Rex's neck. She intends on doing this slowly to make the pleasure of the kill last.

Rex can feel her sharp teeth slowly pressing against his neck, the pressure slowly building as it slowly chokes him to death. In a few seconds Rex will feel no more. Tears begin to swell in Rex's closed eyes as he slowly chokes in the bite and he slowly passes out from the pressure.

He couldn't believe it was happening, but it is…He's going to die…

'_I'm sorry, Littlefoot…Cera…Ducky…Spike…Petrie…I promised you guys I'd return…I'm sorry…'_

The female Longneck Biter was about to apply the complete pressure for the kill until one of her partners gives out a load roar of agony and a sharp noise of a crack, interrupting her and letting go of her grip around Rex's neck.

She swiftly turns around to see one of her partners fall to the ground, the neck broken. "Donovan…"

The one who stands over the dead Longneck Biter has black skin with blue skin from under his neck down his chest and belly and underside of his tail. He has blue stripes along the back of his neck down to his tail and his long feathers along the back of his neck are blue as well. This Longneck Biter seems about the same size as the female, but he seems stronger than the four of them.

Like the female Longneck Biter said, his name is Donovan.

Donovan glares at the female Longneck Biter, "Axel…" His voice deep and commanding…


	5. A rebellion?

Donovan and Axel glare each other down, Donovan standing tall and firm over the Longneck Biter he just killed while Axel stands low and intimidating over Rex.

For a few moments the chamber was nothing but quiet, the three remaining Longneck Biter s stand behind and aside Axel. These Longneck Biters seem to know Donovan all too well; they don't seem pretty daring to go up against him. All of them but one, the Longneck Biter that gave Rex, Chomper and Yu trouble in the first place.

This Longneck Biter is black with grey skin from under his jaw down his neck, stopping right above his chest; two feathers on his head are black while the rest are grey. His eyes are a pair of ruby red.

"Donovan…" The Longneck Biter whispers to himself, he did not want to see him again.

"What are you up to this time, Axel?" Donovan inquires, taking a step forward and over the dead Longneck Biter he just killed. "Why are you here when you clearly know you and your kind are forbidden to come back here?"

"You know clearly well why." Axel replies with a malicious grin, "We're here for the hunt!!"

Donovan snarls and charges, Axel doing the same and returning the charge. Axel pounces onto Donovan and goes in for a slash; Donovan however pushes Axel off before she could try anything.

He turns over and turns, slamming his tail against Axel's side and knocking her down to the ground, but Axel quickly picks herself up and lunges a bite to Donovan's muzzle, but the male is one step ahead of her and dodges it by getting up on his hind legs, his paws swaying and slashing at Axel as she too gets up on her hind legs and returns the slashes to him.

They both take a few steps back on their hind legs to avoid each other's swipes and land back down on all four, the both of them growling at each other and circling around eyeing each other's moves.

"I'm disappointed in you, Axel," Donovan growls, "Why did you choose to follow that insane Longneck Biter and betray us!?"

"Because what he says it's true," Axel replies as she stops her circling and glares at Donovan with a smirk, "You know that more than anyone."

"Shut up!" Donovan cries as he charges in and head butts Axel. Axel shrieks in pain as her nose gets clobbered with a head butt followed by another ram to her ribs, knocking her down.

Donovan growls at her, "It has been our law and tradition to protect it! Who are you and them to betray such laws!?"

"You are missing the point." Axel gets up with an insane grin, "We have protected it for millions of bright circles, and our beliefs is our justice for such a long time of risking our lives to protect it!"

Axel charges in with a roar to slash Donovan's face, but the male jumps back and replies with a bite at Axel's paw, but she retracts her paw quickly and lunges in for a pounce. The two fighting Longneck Biters roll about on the ground, wrestling with each other and biting each other. Axel bites Donovan's shoulder and, while he roars in pain, he slashes Axel across the muzzle, forcing her to let go of his shoulder and retreat off of her in pain.

Donovan rolls away for space and stands back up, "It'll never work out!" He snaps, "We have lived comfortable lives thanks to our laws, you can't deny that."

Axel spits out some blood from her previous bite into Donovan's shoulder and smirks, "True, but just imagine how better it would be in there than living in these caves!"

Donovan growls and jumps in. A quick slash connects across Axel's face and a quick swipe of his right knocks the female down, everything happened so smooth and quick that Axel's companions could barely register the attack. They know Donovan is experienced in fighting, but they have never seen Donovan in a long heated battle such at this, it was a sight to be reckoned with.

"Like I said, it'll never work!" Donovan snaps again, standing over Axel. "The valley cannot be easily entered, our food supply would always be near empty and the sharpteeth would be driven away. We would not survive!"

Axel leaps and knocks Donovan down, raises a paw and sends it down to his face. But Donovan, agile and tough, brings a paw of his own up and grabs Axel's, stopping her from smothering his face. They both lock in a glare, both of them baring their teeth and fangs at each other from the deep hatred they both have for each other. "It's not too late," Donovan speaks, "Stop the coup now!"

Axel's glare sharpens, "Never…"

Donovan growls, pushing her off and standing up, "Is that your decision!?"

Axel stands up as well quickly after being pushed off, "While it's not my place to speak for the whole rebellion…Yes…"

Donovan stops his growl, now he is locked in a glaring contest with Axel. Donovan's claws are thrusted into the ground as his eyes lock on Axel's X-scar on her left shoulder, the symbol that affiliates the Longneck Biters to the rebellion group.

Donovan snaps and growls again, suddenly sprinting to Axel. "Prepare yourself!"

In an instant Donovan and Axel were locked in a test of strength, both their front paws locked with each other's pushing against the other to overwhelm the other. Both of them glaring and growling at each other as they try to overpower one another. They suddenly release each other and back off for another charge.

Axel brings up a paw to slash Donovan, but he jumps aside and goes for a bite to the neck, Axel however jumps back and with a turn she slams her tail against Donovan's face, stunning the male and knocking him down. Axel pins him down and goes for the killing bite to the throat, but Donovan thrusts his paw to Axel's neck and keeps her mouth from reaching his neck. Axel counters with her other paw to strike down on Donovan but he lifts his other paw and catches her paw, the both of them locked in this hold.

The two Longneck Biters growl and glare at each other as they are locked, each of them admiring each other's strength and determination. Donovan, with a swift move, lifts his hind legs and pushes Axel off of him and quickly gets up after turning over. He snarls and zooms over to Axel, who's getting up and turning to face her opponent.

Donovan tackles Axel to the ground, knocking her against one of the made-up hills made of bones and the whole thing crumbles on top of her. Dust and ashes kick up into the air as the hill crumbles, covering up and clouding the Longneck Biters' view. Donovan stands there facing the hill that covered Axel under; waiting for his opponent to pop out of it, but nothing seems to be moving under it.

"I know you're in there…" Donovan speaks, "Come on out!"

Bones shifts and moves from the hill as a paw rises from under the hill. Soon another paw protrudes out from under the hill and seconds later the body of Axel sticks out of the bones, slowly pulling herself out from under the debris. Bones have scratched and cut her as blood trails down from her side and shoulders, the red liquid trickling down her body and dripping onto the bones.

Axel snarls as she jumps from the crumbled down hill and faces Donovan once again, "Lucky as always, Donovan…"

Donovan turns a cheek toward Axel as he gives a lick to his wound on his shoulder, attempting to stop its bleeding.

"The rebellion's vision isn't reliable. It might work for the first few weeks but with all the Longneck Biters to feed the valley's inhabitants will be decimated!" Donovan turns his head to glare at Axel. He continues, "Soon the word will spread about the valley being unsafe from all of you running around hunting whoever goes inside! It'll never prevail!"

"Yeah yeah, that's all your excuse." Axel scoffs with a smirk, "You all enforce the laws and never venture away from it. You all refuse to evolve and find better ways of life beyond the la-"

"The laws have kept us all alive with comfortable lives!" Donovan interrupts Axel, his fangs exposed as he snarls. "Who are you to break them and bring yourselves to a utopia with a corrupt foundation!?"

"Who are you to hold us back from moving on and find a better way of life with taking what's ours?" Axel implies with a sinister smirk.

Donovan growls, "What you are doing is leading a group of Longneck Biters with false hope!"

"You are missing the point, Donovan." Axel teases. "But I guess that's expected from an Longneck Biter like you who have followed the laws for such a long time."

Donovan snarls and charges toward Axel, tackling her down and biting onto her back. Axel roars in pain as Donovan's razor sharp teeth sink and grind into her back and against her spine, the agonizing sting puncturing through her back and spreading pain down her spine. She reaches over and swings a paw at Donovan, managing to slash his arm a bit and forcing him to let go in a painful snarl.

"The laws are old, Donovan…" Axel breathes, her legs quivering from the pain in her back, "It'll soon crumble and leave us with nothing to offer."

"What makes you think your ideals will do better!?" Donovan shouts, "You can't build a utopia from a corrupt foundation such as the rebellion's! No new leaf eaters have taken residence or even entered the valley in a couple of years! Times in the valley are bad enough as it is! What makes you think it'll become your 'paradise' once the rebellion have inhabited it and hunted everyone in it!?"

"…Just like all the others," Axel begins after a short pause, "Blinded by the laws that have held us back from what truly belongs to us."

"Capable of!?" Donovan echoes, anger clearly visible in his eyes, "To kill others out of their own homes and moving in!? Axel, you have seriously lost it!!"

"Did I, Donovan?" Axel taunts. "Or are you and the others the ones who have lost all your self worth and dignity in protecting a measly valley…"

"You have no right or the privilege to drop the laws set millions of bright circles ago by our ancestors!"

"Ancestors this ancestors that!" Axel spits, clearly getting angered by the ancestors' mentioning. "It is time to bury those old has-beens in the soil and move on to better things! Like taking over the valley and take what is ours!"

"Like we'll ever allow you to!" Donovan spits back with a charge and attempt to bite into Axel's neck. But Axel, clearly wounded though, manages to jump aside to avoid the bite and counter with a bite of her own, but Donovan moves away his head and snarls at Axel. "We're not doing this just for the laws of our ancestors but for the leaf eaters we've sworn to protect! The rebellion will never win!"

"Says you…" Axel, with a slight smirk, charges and jumps over Donovan and regroups with her Alimon gang on top of the hill, from where Rex and the gang entered the chamber from, and turns around to face the black and blue Longneck Biter, a grin across her muzzle.

"You may have the upper hand with the rest of the followers of the laws, but we gained support from others that share the same beliefs as us…" Axel moves her glance to the unconscious Rex, still lying on the corner of the cave he passed out on before Donovan interfered with her attempted kill. "And let me tell you," she continues, "It's all the help we'll need for us to fulfill our dream."

Donovan's eyes widen as he quickly catches on to what she meant, "No…" He throws his head up to Axel, "You leave them out of this!!!"

"Not a chance." Axel chuckles, "They sounded happy to aid us. There's nothing to stop us from taking what is rightfully ours." Axel slowly starts to chuckle again, escalating and escalating until it sounds like a demented laugh. "And who knows!? Maybe you all will smarten up and joins us afterwards! Our future lies true with our dream! Hahahahah!!!"

She finishes her statement with a good laugh; she couldn't just contain her enjoyment in any longer, with their help they're sure to fulfill their destiny in taking over the valley. But for now, Axel and the gang must retreat.

Donovan growls as he watches Axel and her gang retreating, all except for the black Longneck Biter with the grey skin on his neck and ruby red eyes, who stood there looking down at Donovan before turning tail and following the others out.

Donovan thrusts his claws into the soil in frustration, growling furiously at their persistence over a belief that it would just not work. He grits his teeth and glare down at the soil, "Grrr…Axel…Persistent little…"

Donovan lifts his head at the sound of someone groaning. Turning his head to the groan, he spots Rex's unconscious body. The kid stirred a bit, but still unconscious.

"Oh no…" Donovan mutters, shaking his head while he approaches the dinosaur. "He's still alive…"

* * *

The day in the Great Valley cannot get any more bright and beautiful. The bright circle is shining bright in the clear blue sky and the grass can't get any greener. The leaves on the trees rustle gently in the wind and the grass gently sway in the valley's grassy plains.

**Great Valley**

"Gotcha!"

A scream erupts into the sky as a creature flies out from a bush and flies up to a tree and perches onto a branch. From the bush a Longneck emerges from it and shakes off all the leaves from its back, he shakes his head and looks around. "I know I saw you flying out of here." The Longneck, Littlefoot, growls, looking around for his 'prey' so to speak. "Where are you…?" He hears a rustle and looks up to see something moving in the tree and letting some leaves fall off. "Heheh, trying to hide up there, are you!?"

"Uhh…No one up here." A voice fibs, a rather high pitched male voice so to speak, "Just us creepy crawlies."

"I'm not falling for that." Littlefoot taunts as he walks up to the tree and, getting up on his hind legs, stretches up his long neck and bites unto the branch, pulling it down and bending the branch down with all this might.

"Aaaah!" The voice screams. "Stop! Me no like this! Stop shaking branch!" The voice screams again as it loses his footing and falls from the branch, falling right on Littlefoot's neck and the force of the drop causing the Longneck to lose his grip on the branch and fall down with a thud and an "Oof!"

Littlefoot groans and slowly stands back up while rubbing his lower jaw. "Ow…You okay, Petrie?"

The creature on his back, Petrie, moans and picks himself up. The Flier has grown two feet taller since last year, his wings have gotten longer and he has gotten taller as well. Petrie is slowly growing up to become the biggest of them all, now almost too big to cling onto Littlefoot's neck like he used to. "Me OK, Littlefoot." Petrie replies as he gets off of the Longneck and rubs his head. "Me just a little dizzy."

Littlefoot giggles, "Sorry about that. Anyway, this makes you, Ducky and Spike."

"Lookie! Littlefoot has found Petrie! Yup yup yup!" A female voice happily announces from behind the Longneck and Flier.

"Petrie! Littlefoot!" A mid-high pitched male voice calls from the same direction the female voice emitted from.

Both Littlefoot and Petrie turn around to face the Swimmer, Ducky, and her brother, the Spiketail, Spike. Ducky has grown a couple of feet too, and while she may be bigger now she can still ride on Spike's back, seeing that the Spiketail as grown one foot taller.

"Heheheh! Yup!" Littlefoot giggles, "Now the only one left to find is Cera!"

"Petrie know where Cera is!" Petrie exclaims as he spreads his wings and fly up to the sky, "Cera hiding behind big tree up ahead!"

Ducky giggles. "No fair Petrie! Littlefoot was the one who should find her!"

Petrie gasps and shuts his beak with his hands. Oops, he just snitched Cera's hiding place out. He bows his head in guilt, "Me sorry…"

Littlefoot giggles. "Awww, don't worry about it, Petrie! I was going to check on that tree right now anyway."

Ducky eyes Littlefoot and places her hands on her hips, she's not buying Littlefoot's remark about going to check on that hiding spot, something is telling her he's just saying that to cover up Petrie's mistake of blurting out Cera's hiding spot. "You are not just saying that just so Petrie does not feel bad about telling you Cera's hiding spot, are you?"

"Ummm…" Littlefoot stammers. Is he that easy to figure out? "No, I uhhh…Just umm…" Littlefoot's in trouble now, he was just caught in his own little fib and now he can't think of a good way out of it. He slowly takes a few steps back and looks around rather nervously, trying to figure out how to get out of this little predicament. "Well uhhh…I'm gonna go find Cera now! See ya!" He announces with a quick pace and with a quick turn he sprints away from the others.

"Hey!" Ducky calls out with a giggle, "Come back here! I have not finished with my speech!"

"Wait up Littlefoot!" Petrie cries out as he takes off after the sprinting Littlefoot.

"Spike, come on!" Ducky calls to her brother. "We must catch up to them and warn Cera!"

"Food!" The same mid-high pitched male voice from before cries out, only to be quickly followed by a loud munch and the rustle of leaves, the hint of something eating away at a bush quickly obvious. Ducky twirls around only to spot his brother, Spike, eating away at a bush. She sprints toward him and, grabbing his tail, tries to pull him away from the bush, sadly with no prevail.

"Come on, Spike!" She strains as she pulls on his tail, "We must warn Cera about Littlefoot knowing her hiding spot!"

Spike goes to take another munch of the bush but only to find his mouth clamping shut on nothing but air, apparently the Swimmer managed to pull him a bit away from the bush. Spike strains to get closer to the bush and succeeds, him being stronger than Ducky.

"Spike!" Ducky groans. Spike turns his head over to Ducky and gives her a good, wet lick on the face. "Yuck! Bleck!" Ducky spits and wipes the saliva off her face. Spike could just chuckle and happily exclaim as his belly grumbles for food, "Food!"

Apparently Spike learned a few words over the course of one year…

* * *

In a pitch black narrow cave, the sound of rushing water echoes in its narrow halls.

"Coff…Caff…"

The sounds of someone coughing and struggling with the current is heard somewhere in this cave. "Gah…Help!" The voice cries with a choked voice, "Chomper! Where are you! Coff! Guh! Chomper!!"

"Yu!?" Another voice, deeper than the other, cries out. "Guh! Where are you!?"

"Hahh! Hahh! I don't know!" The voice sounds tired and scared, more sounds of a struggle in the river echoes. "The current's strong! I'm…Getting tired!"

"Guh…Gah…Huhh…Keep your head up…"

"Oof! Gah! I can't…Guh…"

"Hahh…Yu! Stay with me!"

"Ugh…I'm trying…"

More splashes and struggles are heard in this pitch black tunnel, grunts and gasps for air are heard as the two figures fight against the current to keep their heads above water. These two poor souls fighting for their lives in an unmerciful underground river are Chomper and Yu, two Sharpteeth who were fortunate enough to get away from the Alimons but very unlucky to fall into this river.

Up ahead the two Sharpteeth managed to grab unto the river's edge and slowly pull themselves out. And though they can't see in this pitch black cave, they could find each other by touch, by scent and by sound. The two friends sit to catch their breaths as they lean against each other, back to back, their chest heaving for breath.

"Hahh…Hahh…Hahh…" Yu heaves heavily, trying to catch his breath. "Hahh…What a ride…"

Chomper breathes in deeply and heavily, also recovering from all that struggling. "Hahh…Hahh…You could say that again…" Chomper's tongue is practically hanging out of his snout, very tired from the struggling in the river. "So tired…"

"I can't believe this…" Yu moans as he slowly turns his head to look over his shoulder, even though the two friends are practically blind in this pitch black cave. "Being separated from Rex just like that…We couldn't help him, Chomper…Those Longneck Biters must've shredded him up right now…"

Chomper sighs, "Rex…"

"I thought I heard something."

Chomper and Yu lifts up their heads and look around the pitch black cave, only to see nothing but darkness.

"Who's there!?" Chomper demands.

"You two look exhausted and soaked." The voice continues. "Don't tell me you guys went for a swim."

"What if we did!?" Yu answers.

"Then you two aren't very bright." A silhouette starts approaching the two Sharpteeth.

A figure on all four with the same elongated neck as the Longneck Biters they faced earlier. Chomper and Yu can only gasp as they stand up, a bit wobbly from still being tired from their struggle in the river.

Their hearts begin to pound faster as they get more and more scared from the figure coming closer to them, they dread to find out this is a Longneck Biter that's approaching them, and whether it's friend or foe it's scaring the heck out of them.

Yu gulps and quivers, "Chomper?"

"Yeah?"

"…I'm sorry I stole your kill on our last hunt last year…"

"…That was you!?"

* * *

"Guuuuuuhhhhhh…" A sharp, painful moan escapes from Rex's mouth as he slowly comes to. Pain surging from his right arm, chest, face, legs and let's not forget that savage bite to his muzzle. The kid is in deep pain.

Though feeling pain right now is a blessing in disguise, at least it proves to him he's still alive. In the world of the dead pain is nonexistent, and he's at least thankful he's still alive. He feels a warm yet rather sloppy thing brush against his muzzle where the bite marks are, causing the young boy to wince and growl in pain, his left humanoid paw clutching tightly into a fist.

"Ah, so you're waking up." A male voice points out.

Rex quickly realizes the voice is deeper than the Longneck Biter he came up against at first, and the voice is male so it can't be that female Longneck Biter that almost killed him and led Chomper and Yu to fall through the…

"Chomper…Yu…" Rex mutters as he slowly plants his humanoid paws to the ground and try to pick himself up but only to be greeted by a sharp pain on his right arm, causing him to yelp in pain and drop right back down to the ground, he realizes he's on his back.

"Careful there, kid." The voice cautions him. "You're pretty wounded, take it slow."

"Uuuugh…" Rex groans and picks himself up, this time slower than before. He sits up and rubs his snout as it hurts with even the slightest moans. He looks down at his right arm and his chest to see them patched up with herbs and leaves, the answer to why his wounds sting a bit…

"Good to see you up…"

Rex blinks at the voice and slowly turns around to face his savior. "Uhh…Tha-" He stops in his tracks as his dark blue eyes sees the creature who saved him.

His heart began to race and pound against his chest as he realizes he's staring at another Longneck Biter, a black one with blue skin from under his neck down his chest and belly and underside of his tail and blue stripes along the back of his neck down to his tail, long feathers along the back of his neck are blue.

Rex suddenly jumps up with a scream and fumbles back only to fall back and land on a sitting position, growling in pain as he forgot the wound on his legs.

The Longneck Biter however, wasn't surprised how Rex reacted, after all the beating he must've went through thanks to those other Longneck Biters. "Don't be afraid, I don't mean you any harm."

Rex eyes the Longneck Biter, waiting for any movement of attack, but so far he has detected none. He soon gives off a sigh as the truth sinks in that this one doesn't mean any harm to him, like it stated. "Sorry…I guess I'm still jumpy…"

"I can imagine…"

Rex continues eyeing the Longneck Biter and notices he lacks the scar in shape of an X on its shoulders like the others used to have.

He looks around and sees he's not in the chamber where all the bones were, instead he's in a circular room-like chamber with a hole on the ceiling where the bright circle's light shines down from, lighting up the place. Platform-like rocks are protruding from the walls, which Rex takes note of and realizes they can give easy access to the hole in the ceiling, the hole which is big enough for even him to squeeze out of.

"Where am I…?"

"In one of the emergency chambers." The Longneck Biter responds. "Here we refuge the wounded and escape from danger through that hole in the ceiling."

Rex suddenly remembers his friends. Chomper! Yu! They're somewhere in this cavern and he's here sitting around waiting for his wounds to heal and talking to a Longneck Biter!

"Oh no!" Rex exclaims as he slowly picks himself up and wobbles a bit, he rests a humanoid paw against the wall to hold himself up from falling, breathing heavily from the ache of his wounds. "My friends…I gotta find my friends…"

"Friends?" The Longneck Biter echoes. "Ah yes…" He continues as he closes his eyes. "So those other two scents from the underground river were your friends…A Sickleclaw, and a Sharptooth…"

Rex looks at the Longneck Biter with a glare. "You…You live here, don't you?"

Rex growls, he's clearly upset about being separated from his friends and angered about all of this, especially being with this Longneck Biter. After all, what proof is there that this Longneck Biter is different from the ones that attacked him and his friends? What proof is there that the legends about them being the good guys are all real? All of this could be just bogus and the Longneck Biters were never the good guys after all.

Rex continues with his growl, "Take me to where you caught their scent, now! Before I rip your throat out!"

"No need for aggressive behavior, kid." The Longneck Biter remarks, returning Rex's glare. "You don't want to try your luck against another Longneck Biter after that battle, especially when you and your friends failed miserably."

Rex growls, his sharp teeth exposed to the Longneck Biter. Even though the idea of ripping his throat out is tempting, it's true he can't even stand a chance against him, especially being wounded.

Now it's not the time to let his Sharptooth side take over and take out the only creature that could be of any help to him. "Just take me to them…"

The Longneck Biter shakes his head, "It'll be better to bring them to you."

The Longneck Biter turns around and pads toward the dark tunnel of the chamber, he takes a deep breath and opens his snout. A loud, deafening roar erupts next from his mouth, a roar so loud Rex couldn't help but to place his paws on his head to cover out such a loud roar.

The Longneck Biter stops his roar and stands there at the foot of the chamber's exit, waiting.

Rex slowly removes his humanoid paws from his head, wondering what the heck was all that about. "…Ummm…Why did you-"

"Sshh." The Longneck Biter hushes.

Rex blinks, and just as if on cue with the Longneck Biter's hush a roar answers. Soon by another and then another until a total of about ten or twelve roars echo through the chamber and tunnels deep in the cavern. The roars all in unison and answering to each other as if a conversation; the roars so organized and civilized it could be also heard as a song; the roars all as one yet capable of understanding all of them without confusion.

"What are they…?" Rex begins to ask.

"Connecting with each other…Leading one another…" The Longneck Biter answers, "Looks like someone already found your friends…"

* * *

In the Great Valley, a Threehorn runs across the plains and beyond a couple of trees, her legs pumping her across the terrain running away from a Longneck chasing her. Naturally this would be a very odd scene to watch seeing that a Threehorn can defend itself well from a Longneck, but these two are Cera and Littlefoot, and they're only playing.

"No fair!" Cera cries out to the Longneck chasing her. "Someone blabbed about my hiding spot, didn't they!?"

"No way, Cera!" Littlefoot laughs, "I found you fair and square!"

"Hmph! My hiding place was perfect!" Cera shouts back as she quickly turns a corner on a tree and continues running. "I swore you would look again behind that log near the Roaring Falls!"

Littlefoot couldn't help but giggle as he follows Cera quite well. "C'mon Cera, you're too smart to hide in the same place twice!"

Cera couldn't help but grin at that statement. "No surprise there! I was always the best hider!" Her cockiness was so great she even closed her eyes as she grinned to herself. "It's no wonder I'm always the last one to get tag-Oof!" She suddenly stopped as she ran headfirst into something. It wasn't a boulder or a tree, what she ran into was too soft to be any of those.

"Cera?" Littlefoot heard her sudden 'Oof' and began to worry she might've hurt herself during the run, though as he caught up to her he felt himself freeze in place, staring in shock and horror at what lies in front of him. Cera is in front of him on the ground, but that's not what he's staring at.

"Ow…What did I just hit?" Cera inquires as she rubs her nose and shakes her head. Opening her eyes and looking in front of her she gasps at what she just ran into. In front of her lies a corpse of a dinosaur, a mutilated corpse. The dead dinosaur was none other than a Spiketail. The poor creature's neck is practically gone, torn off and shredded into nothing.

"Littlefoot!" Ducky calls out as she, along with Spike and Petrie, catches up to them. "Did you catch Cera?" As soon as she turned that tree the three of them freeze in place and gasps. Petrie gives off a short scream while Ducky covers her mouth with her hands as she too spots the body. The scene is a horrifying sight.

The stomach is also torn open, blood still trickling out of the wounds, practically all of the Spiketail's insides has been devoured. Whoever did this must've either had a huge belly, or came in a group. There's practically nothing left to devour other than the crunchy, tasteless hide and head.

Cera is trembling, terrified to be very close to the body, and while she's still clutching her horn she feels a warm spot on it. Shakingly she removes her paw from her horn and looks at it to spot blood on her paw. Cera screams while getting up and scrambling away from the body and to her friends, trembling.

"I do not like this." Ducky declares as she backs off and buries her eyes into Spike's skin, but not before covering Spike's eyes with her own hands. "Do not look, Spike." Spike didn't do anything to take Ducky's hands off his eyes; he in fact seems to have welcomed it.

"Oooo, me scared." Petrie confesses as he flies down and hides behind Cera, his hands over his eyes and his teeth chattering as he too shields his eyes from the scene. "Oooo, Sharpteeth back in valley."

Littlefoot backs away from the body, quivering in fear as he finds a trail of bloody paw prints leading from the corpse to the mountain walls of the valley. "We…" Littlefoot starts, his voice shaky from the terrifying fear this scene has triggered. "We should…Tell the grown-ups…"

"No complaints here." Cera admits.

The gang all in unison turns tail and dash out of there. They fear the perpetrators might still be in the valley or even close to the scene, and they don't wish to stay there to find out if they left or not. A year ago they went through the same trauma with the Sickleclaw pack Zill and Bull belonged to, an adventure that nearly costed Littlefoot's and Cera's lives.

It was one Sharptooth trauma they wish they would never go through again. And this scene just made them remember that nightmare once thought forgotten…


	6. Guardians of the Valley

Vlad stands on the edge of the cliff in front of a cave entrance, watching over the green-filled valley he calls his home. About 10 miles of green fields and forests surrounded by mountains in a crescent shape, a half a mile wide opening to the north of it where the dinosaurs make their entries and exits. This valley isn't hugely known as the Great Valley is, but it's a good substitute despite the rather inviting entry to it. Here leaf-eaters and meat-eaters are welcomed, welcomed to have their fill with their favorite food before moving on with their journey and migration.

Vlad blinks and slightly covers his face as a strong gust of wind blows, carrying with it any particles of dust and leaves it has collected, throwing it all against his face and stinging his eyes from the particles that reach their mark. This valley is miles away from the Great Valley, another reason why it's not hugely known. This valley, home of roaming leaf-eaters and home of Vlad's species, known as…

"Crescent Valley…" Vlad mutters under his breath. Vlad has grown up all his life in this valley, hanging out with his friends Shino and Kedem and living along with his father and the rest of his species.

**Crescent Valley**

Crescent Valley, while a migration spot for numerous leaf-eaters and meat-eaters, is the home of Vlad's species, the mysterious anthro-like dinosaurs; some with wings, others without them.

The species has a rule between them: Their names and reason why some are wingless are never to be discussed with their offsprings until they have come of age; reasons are that they may not be emotionally and mentally ready for such truths and facts. The adults are very careful when speaking about their names and about the wingless ones, very careful as to not let a child eavesdrop and learn the species' name out of place.

Vlad growls and curses under his breath. He's nearly coming of age where he can be told of the truth, and he's very anxious about learning his species' name and the reason of why there are those without wings. He has waited patiently for years to learn this, and now he's so close to get such information his species hold close and dear.

"Vlad…" A deep voice calls from behind him, cuing the child to turn around to his cave.

There, standing by the entrance of the cave is an adult dinosaur, wings folded against his back and standing at around 12 feet tall. His skin color is blue-green with white skin from his neck down to his chest, stomach and underside of his tail. He has a scar over his right eye and dark blue eyes; the dinosaur is the same one from last night who spoke with the green-eyed one.

Vlad stands straight to him, his shoulders up and looking at him in the eye as to show respect to the adult, "Dad…"

The dinosaur, Vlad's father, stands there looking down at his son, who is just about 6 feet tall. "Is something troubling you, son?" He inquires, noticing a bit of absence in his mind and that troubled look in his face.

"Ummm…Sort of…" Vlad answers, "You see, now that I'm coming of age, I'm starting to feel…Uneasy…"

"Uneasy?" His father echoes, "How so?"

"Well, with all these responsibilities starting to rain down on me…The stress getting to me as I grow up and become an adult…" Vlad sighs and he rubs the back of his head absently, his gaze starting to drop from his father's. "It's really bothering me…Knowing I'm the next in line to become the leader of the pack when you're too old to do it anymore…All the responsibilities, keeping track of what goes on, knowing what decisions to take in a pinch, I…I don't know if I can do it…"

His father looks down at Vlad sincerely. He knows how it is to grow up to an adult, knowing the responsibilities that are waiting for him the moment he becomes of age and is told everything about his species, everything he or she needs to know before taking their place in the pack.

He nods and proceeds closer to his son, finally resting a paw on his son's shoulder. "My son, I understand what you're going through…The pace of change can be hard on anyone, it is a stressful and frightening period in your life…"

Vlad looks up at his father, seeing that warm smile in his face that always manages to put the same on his own face, he knows he can trust and rely on his father to give him the best advice and courage he needs for the challenges of adulthood.

True, Vlad is nervous about his coming of age and taking his rightful place in his pack, taking on that responsibility later on in his life that would either spell prosperity or corruption to his pack. But he knows, with his father's guidance and trust, he'll be just fine.

"But…" That doesn't mean he's entirely confident. "What if I fail when the time comes?"

His father chuckles and looks forward to the Crescent Valley's view, an action that even made Vlad to do the same and turn around to look at the view. "My son, our species are one that are always helping each other and united together in spirit, we help one another and encourage one another. So you see, we are never alone in our responsibilities."

He places his paw on Vlad's shoulder again and continues. "We are as united as our rivals, the Longneck Biters. We know our place, our duty, and work together as one. So if you fail, you will always have your friends and comrades watching your back. Don't be afraid of your destiny, for we will always be with you and each other through the end."

Vlad manages to shed another smile. He's right, just like the Longneck Biters, this species are very united and work perfectly as a team. They always have each other's back and will go together anywhere. If one falls others will help him, it has always been like that and always will be in the future.

"You…Think I'll be as good as you are?" He inquires as he looks up to his father.

His father merely chuckled, "If you choose to be."

Vlad nods and sets his gaze boldly and proudly to the bright circle in the sky as it looms over the mountains of the valley. "I do…I won't let you down."

His father smiles, proud to see such determination in his son's heart and spirit…If only…

"Zarek!" A voice calls out from their right, calling out Vlad's dad.

"Hm?" The father, Zarek, turns to his right, seeing a grey member of his species with black from his neck down his chest, stomach and underside of his tail; his paws are also black while his eyes are a pair of brown eyes.

Zarek knows him as Blackpaw, he's 10 feet tall with a pair of black wings. Despite being 2 feet shorter than Zarek, Blackpaw is a strong dinosaur and practically a rival to Zarek when it comes to friendly fights and hunting.

"Blackpaw," Zarek begins, "What's wrong?"

Blackpaw comes to a stop to catch his breath, keeling over with his paws on his knees to support him while taking in deep breaths to regain his energy. His breath finally catches up to him and he stands upright, still talking a bit woozy from still being a bit tired.

"Hahh…Hahh…Zarek, we've…found another Longneck Biter roaming outside the valley…This time there were two of them…"

Zarek seems unfazed by the news, but obviously concerned about it. "Have you managed to listen in or find out what they're up to?"

Blackpaw shakes his head, "No luck. They just turned a corner into a crevasse and next thing I knew they disappeared."

Zarek sighs; it has been like this for over a few months now.

Longneck Biters, while their job is to protect the Great Valley, have been spotted around the Crescent Valley. They have agreed to never trespass into each other's territory, a pact made between them which were originated from the legend when traced back.

It is a mystery why these Longneck Biters are suddenly invading and betraying their pact, but so far they haven't dared to enter the valley. Although, it seems like they may be growing bolder by the day judging from Blackpaw's report. Who knows what they are doing in the crevasse Blackpaw saw them enter deep inside…

"What shall we do?" Blackpaw asks.

Zarek shakes his head, "For now, nothing. We're not sure what they're up to, but we're not going to risk provoking them and put the valley and our hatchlings in danger."

Blackpaw nods in understanding, but Zarek is not finished. "Bring a partner along with you and keep surveying the area, report back if anything else happens."

Blackpaw nods, spreads his black wings and takes off into the sky, gracefully flying into the distance toward the mountains to follow Zarek's orders. Vlad watches him go and gives off a sigh, knowing that'll soon be him flying majestically through the skies guarding and surveying his home, giving orders to the others for the good of the valley.

Zarek watches Blackpaw before glancing down to his son, Vlad. The child is growing up, and soon it'll be time to tell him everything about his species, and its name.

"The time to tell you about our species is nigh, isn't it?"

"Yeah…"

"Nervous?"

"…Looking forward to it…"

* * *

It's been a few hours since Rex woke up to a black and blue Longneck Biter mending his wounds from his past beating in the paws of Axel and her companions.

The black and blue Longneck Biter who saved his life, Donovan, led him to another part of the cave where he left the child in charge of a small group of female Longneck Biter before taking off somewhere.

But before that, along the way, Donovan has told Rex more about the Longneck Biters living in the Valley Mountains, confirming every legend and suspicions the child has heard from his time in the valley.

The legends and stories are true, Longneck Biters _are_ protectors of the valley, and there's a whole pack of them living up here feeding on the dumb Sharpteeth stupid enough to try to climb over the mountains. Rex was relieved to hear they are protecting his friends and home, but what about those Longneck Biters that beat him up and his friends so badly?

Donovan didn't answered though; he immediately left after leaving Rex in a cave with a small group of about 3 female Longneck Biters.

These Longneck Biters are the Nurses of the pack, the selected females who were taught and trained by their parents about the usefulness of plants and herbs. They are in charge of treating the sick and wounded, and at the moment Rex is their patient, who doesn't seem to be approving of this rather painful yet helpful help.

"Ow! Ow! Stop it!" Rex complains.

"Hehe! Aw grow up, it can't hurt that bad." A female tried in vain to get the kid to calm down as she tries to mend the wounds on Rex's legs.

"Aahh!! Stop licking that!"

"Sorry, but this bite wound on your arm is pretty bad," Another female speaks. "Donovan did a fine job patching it up but I got to clean it out."

"Hey! What are you-Gaaaahhh!!" Rex suddenly screams in agony, "Owowowowow!!! That stings!!"

"Well of course, it stings." The third female voice starts, "This herb's chemical will treat that nasty bite on your muzzle nicely and kill any infection, just bear with it."

"Easier said than done…"

Two of them giggle, they're still quite young despite their excellent experiences with nursing the sick and wounded.

The one that looks the in-between in age of the three has blue skin from her snout down her neck, chest, belly, legs and underside to the underside of her tail, red skin from the top of her snout, her head all the way from her shoulders to her tail, yellow skin from the back of her neck down her spine down the top of her tail. Her claws are yellow and her eye colors are green and a scar over her right eye, which she lost use of it due to the scar.

And finally, what sets the females apart from the males is the short fur from the top of her head down the back of her neck and ends at the shoulders, which is colored yellow while a small patch of red on the tip from her head. This Longneck Biter has an unmatched vast knowledge of herbs and plants to use for wounds and sickness, her name is Kacie.-

The youngest Longneck Biter has an aqua-blue skin all over while she has light-blue skin from the tip of her snout down her spine to her tail. The fur on her head down her neck to the shoulders is colored light-blue to match the patch of light-glue skin down her back. While she may seem a bit hyper she's pretty quick and a fast worker when treating the wounded and sick, which makes her a valuable member of this Nurse Unit, and her name is Chelsey.--

The oldest of the trio has orange skin from her neck down to about one third of her tail while her head and the rest of her tail are of light-blue skin. The fur from her head matches the skin color of the head while the rest from her neck down her shoulders are of red color. Her eyes are yellow, but her eyes' scleras are green. She knows how to treat any wounds and sickness and can even identify them easily and knows what chemicals and medicine work best, in other words she's the answer to find the correct treatment to a sickness or wound in a pinch. Her name is Blueface.

"Despite all the pain you'll recover fine," Blueface informs with a soft smile, "Try not to move your arm too much and you'll be fine."

"Thanks…I guess…" Rex rubs his muzzle gently as if applying the herbs on his muzzle a bit of pressure, wincing a bit from the touch.

"Don't touch it!" Chelsey snaps with a playful grin, "Or we would have to do the process all over again, which equals pain for you."

Rex gulps and slowly moves his paw away from his muzzle with a slight grin, "Right…Sorry…"

He looks around the chamber, and just like the one he was in this one has a hole on the ceiling where the bright circle's rays shine in, but due to this chamber being three times bigger than the one he was in before there are more holes on the ceiling.

"So uhhh…How long are the tunnels in the mountains here?"

"You could say miles," Kacie answers Rex's question with a grin, "It's pretty big, if you don't know the way you could get pretty lost in here."

Rex looks at Kacie and the two of them pretty much lock their gazes on each other's scars, the two of them strangely on the same eye and almost the same size, except Kacie's scar rendered her right eye permanently shut, losing the use of her right eye.

Kacie moves her gaze away and slightly turns her head away, motioning the idea of not favoring the idea of talking about it. But Rex didn't quite catch on with the idea, "How did you get that?"

"I uhhh…" Kacie stammers with a wince, she just got sucked into what she was avoiding to talk about. "I…Ummm…Got hurt playing…"

It was a lie, though she deserved an award for making it sound very sincere and believable. Chelsey and Blueface seem to have winced themselves from having that topic touched, but Rex was oblivious to them as he just had his eyes on Kacie's face.

"By playing?" Rex inquires Kacie who in turn nods. "That's kind of harsh for play-"

"Excuse me for the interruption…" A male voice apologizes as a Longneck Biter enters and cuts Rex off, which was something Kacie was very grateful.

The male Longneck Biter who entered the cave is black with white skin from under his lower jaw down his neck, chest, stomach and underside of his tail. His feathers, what separates the males from the females, are white along with white horizontal stripes from his back where the feathers end down to his tail. His eyes are grey while his claws are also grey. He's about 7 feet tall and looks quite strong; a bold warrior of his pack who won't give up till the end, his name is Ken'ichi. ---

Ken'ichi clears his throat and continues, "But I suspect this Sharptooth and Sickleclaw are with the winged one." He looks over his shoulder and motions his head, and soon from outside two familiar meat-eaters enter the cave.

Rex grins as he jumps up, "Chomper! Yu!" He sprints toward them and scoops the two of them up into his arms in a hug, Chomper around his left arm and Yu around his right arm.

"Gugh! Crushing us! Not hugging!" Yu complains as he struggles to breathe.

"Gagh! Let us go!" Chomper also complains.

But Rex just couldn't keep his happiness inside, he had to let it all out in that hug or else it was a pouncing fit, which he knows he and his two Sharpteeth friends aren't in good health for.

Rex stops the hugging and lets them go, but he still keeps his arms around them as he sports his usual grin. "Am I happy to see you two!" He exclaims happily, "I thought I lost you guys when I realized you two fell into an underground river!"

"Heheh! We're very happy to see you alive as well!" Chomper admits happily with a grin as well.

Yu nods with a smile and goes on, "After that beating we took from just one we thought you'd be killed for sure against four!"

"Well at least now we're around the good guys this time!" Rex comments as he lets go of them, "We won't have to worry about them for a while."

"But what if they find us again?" Chomper asks, "I would like to get my claws on them again for some payback but they're too tough! And if they find us again we're in for it."

"Then we'll have to stick with my pack!" Yu comments, "Those guys almost killed us, but they have no chance against us and our pack! My dad will rip them apart with their help!"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Rex grins, "We'll get them back for messing with us, eh!?"

"Totally!" Chomper chuckles, "They'll be sorry they picked on us!"

The three friends practically warped into their own little dimension where only they exist as they babble on and talk about their payback to the Longneck Biter that gave them so much trouble. They were so into their reunion and talk that they practically forgot all about the Longneck Biters in the cave as they stand there watching the gang talk and talk and talk.

While the idea of disposing the Longneck Biters that attacked them would benefit both parties, it's not that easy. And while they have their own territory and pack to watch and take care of, they're not about to let these three kids and their pack to get into a mass slaughter fight against possibly four of the toughest creatures they have ever encountered.

Ken'ichi was getting agitated. He clears his throat with a slight growl which bought the three kid's attention.

"Not to interrupt your suicide plan," Ken'ichi begins, "but I'm kind of in a tight schedule and I've been ordered to keep an eye on you three, so either you stop wasting my time and decide to stay with the Nurses or I'll lead you outside."

Kacie giggles and looks at Ken'ichi, "Does the tough guy have his feathers ruffled or something? What's the matter? Can't stand watching over three of our guests?"

Ken'ichi's gaze hardens as if that remark meant an offense to him, "Need I remind you as the Commander of the pack I have more important things to worry about than to look over three kids who have fallen victim to the Rebellion."

"That's Commander-in-training." Kacie corrects the Longneck Biter teasingly with a grin, "You're still not fully a Commander yet, tough boy."

Ken'ichi seems to blush a bit from Kacie teasingly calling him 'tough boy.' He takes a step back before beginning to growl, "Know your place, Kacie, I can easily put you in the training for Warrior Longneck Biters…"

While Ken'ichi threatened this to Kacie, he really doesn't mean it. The Warriors are all males while the remaining female adults- who weren't chosen to be Nurses- trained to defend their pack against invaders and enemy packs.

Rex, Chomper and Yu tilt their heads at this little squat, all the while Chelsey giggles and moves on to the confused trio.

"Ken'ichi's kind of the tough guy of the pack," She whispers to them, "Ken'ichi and Kacie know each other since they were just pups. Kacie enjoys teasing and acting silly toward him while Ken'ichi tries to keep a tough Longneck Biter reputation around the pack." Chelsey giggles and continues, "It doesn't look like it, but everyone can sense a little love between them, even though those two don't realize it yet, they do feel something for each other."

"No we don't!" Kacie and Ken'ichi snap at Chelsey at the same time, they have overheard Chelsey's comment about a love interest going on and developing between them.

Rex, Chomper and Yu couldn't help but laugh at the predicament in this cave, it started from treating Rex's wounds and it's turning into a guessing game whether or not it's true that Kacie and Ken'ichi are starting to feel something for each other.

Blueface chuckles a bit aways from them, all of this is reminding her the first time she met her mate; you could say it was love at first sight. It was pretty evident Blueface and her mate were made for each other to everyone, though her mate had to fight down another male to claim her as his mate.

Rex, Chomper and Yu were still laughing as Chelsey is being glared down by Ken'ichi and Kacie whom, after seeing each other glaring down the same Longneck Biter at the same time, stop their glares to her and turn back to their duties before the squat started.

But, as if on cue when the fun stopped, a roar echoes through the tunnels, catching Ken'ichi's and the other Longneck Biters' attention in the cave. Rex, Chomper and Yu's attention were also bought from the roars, but neither of them could make out what the roars are supposed to be saying…

"Well," Ken'ichi begins as he turns to Rex, Chomper and Yu, "Seems like the chief wants to see the three of you."

The trio looks at each other, why would the chief of this pack want to see them? Was it because they entered their territory without permission? Was it because of the Longneck Biters that attacked them? Whatever the reason is, Ken'ichi seems like the message was rather…Well, amused.

Another roar fills in the atmosphere of the tunnels, this one making Ken'ichi move, "Come, seems like they're anxious for you three to approach him."

* * *

The Great Valley was once again stirred by a horrible event. Littlefoot and the gang have told the grown-ups about the Spiketail corpse they found while they were playing hide and seek, the one Cera unintentionally ran into when running away from Littlefoot.

The grown-ups all gathered around the corpse, the memories of a certain blue-green Sharptooth from a year ago coming back to them, remembering the first corpse they found like this, all mangled and eaten. Some of them couldn't stomach this scene and backed away from it while others stood their ground inspecting the gruesome scene.

One Threehorn, a gigantic male Threehorn, boldly approaches the body to examine the wounds. Its stomach all torn open, the neck practically gone, blood riddling the grass and staining the corpse. The Threehorn, named Topsy, shakes his head at the corpse in pity and anger as he tries to think through all of the questions and mutters of the group.

"What happened to him?"

"Sharpteeth in the valley again?"

"Was it him?"

"We're all in danger."

"We're doomed."

Topsy growls and turns to the group of adults, scolding a single word with his deep voice that finally made everyone shut up: "Enough!"

The whole crowd all befell in silence, nothing else to hear but the trees rustling in the wind. Topsy finally gives off a heavy sigh and starts, "This is the third body we've found! There is no doubt there are Sharpteeth invading the valley!" The crowd begins again to mutter to each other, questions again arising.

"Where are they coming from?"

"Why haven't we seen them already?"

"Are they ghosts?"

"What are we going to do?"

"Silence!" Topsy grinds his teeth as all the questions and mutters are starting to give him a headache. He growls and tries to come up with a solution, "Now, we must find whoever's responsible for this and destroy him along with any of his accomplices! And if I find out any of you are helping them I will personally rip them apart!!"

Once again his anger is getting the best of Topsy and jumping to conclusions, a bad habit he's had for as long as any of the residents of the valley can remember.

"Now Topsy, relax." Female Threehorn, Tria, steps toward Topsy's side, "You're jumping to conclusions again." She nuzzles him to calm him down and continues, "Besides, I highly doubt any of the inhabitants of the valley have anything to do with this."

Topsy's eyes soften as he lowers his head, feeling a bit silly about the idea in the first place. "Sorry…"

He didn't have time to stay like this. He sucks in his guilt and eyes at the crowd, "Alright, listen up. It's obvious we have Sharpteeth invading and hunting in the valley. I want all of you to keep a sharp eye out and keep your children close to your nests."

Littlefoot and the rest of the gang winces from that last rule, how can they play around in the valley if they're forced to stay close to their homes? Knowing Topsy, he won't even let Cera get out of his sights from now on, and by how protective their parents are they won't be able to go far either.

Dark day in history in their books, and now a few of the Great Valley children start their complaints, most of them regarding how they'll be able to meet with their friends and how limited their games will be.

Tria understands the children's plights and looks at Topsy. He sees her gaze and knows what she's getting at. And not one to argue with a female, _his _female, he sighs and changes his mind, "Alright, as long as the places your children go to have any grown-ups to keep an eye on them and protect them, but anywhere near the mountains and shadowy areas are off-limits!"

When he hears relieved sighs from the children in the meeting, he decides it's time to conclude this. "Alright then, keep a watchful eye out and be careful!"

With that, Topsy moves away from the corpse and back to his nest with Tria besides him. Everyone else follows and goes back to their quarters and to graze, the children are addressed to go back home with their parents for now until the rest of this issue comes to light and anywhere close to solving.

Littlefoot sighs as he follows his grandparents back, his mind being riddled with worry and questions. This is all reminding him of what he and his friends went through a year ago, back when Rex disappeared from the valley and he went out into the Mysterious Beyond with his friends to find him and bring him home. He failed though, in the end Rex decided to stay, though not before he promised him he would come back soon.

"Littlefoot?" His grandpa inquires as he looks down at his grandson, noticing that troubled look on his face. He stops and lowers his long neck down to him to look at his face, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Littlefoot answers, he looks up at his grandpa and goes on, "Grandpa…When do you think Rex will be coming back?"

Grandpa blinks and looks at his mate who just lowered her head down to look at her grandson. When Littlefoot came back from the Mysterious Beyond a year ago he told them both all about what happened to them, where they went, how they found Rex, his decision to stay in the Mysterious Beyond and his promise he'll come back someday.

Grandpa and Grandma both know Rex very well to consider them a second grandson to them. They have taken care of the child since he was little when Littlefoot found him, they were at first concerned when they figured out he's a Sharptooth, but thanks to Littlefoot's persistence and patience he grew up into the kind, loving and friendly dinosaur he is today.

Rex and Littlefoot are so close they are practically like brothers, and they know any promise Rex makes is one that he keeps.

Littlefoot's grandma smiles as she lowers her head and gently nuzzles her grandson, "Don't worry, Littlefoot…He'll keep his word and come back. Rex is an honest child; he won't let you down…"

Littlefoot smiles with newfound hope. He licks his grandma's cheek with a smile, "Thanks grandma, I know he won't let me down…"

His grandpa smiles but soon frowns as his mind goes back to the problem they have in paw. He gives off a sigh, "I sure hope this Sharpteeth problem of ours won't go any worse than it is now…"

Littlefoot frowns at his grandpa's comment, he hopes so as well. He's really scared of this mysterious Sharptooth who's hunting down the leaf-eaters of the valley, and he's afraid his grandparents, friends or even himself might be next.

Grandma nods with a worried look, "I hope so as well…"

* * *

Rex, Chomper and Yu follow Ken'ichi through the tunnels of the caves in the mountains, their vision very poor from the lack of lighting in these tunnels, and although the three of them don't have any problems seeing in this dark tunnel, they're not familiar with the channel and they don't want to stub their toes against a rock or anything.

"Where are we going?" Yu asks.

"The main chamber," Ken'ichi answers, "It's where our pack holds meetings."

Rex's turn to ask a question, "But why do they wanna see us?"

"You'll see."

Rex gulps, he really doesn't like being kept out of the light like that, especially when it's something he quite doesn't know yet, like these Longneck Biters. They sure seem like they're the good guys, but what if things are not what it seems?

What if the second they set foot in the chamber they'll get cut off and shredded to pieces by them? What if this is all just a ploy to get them into a false sense of security and then, right when they least expect it, spring the attack on them and brutally slaughter them? Rex feels a chill going up his spine, now he's already having second thoughts of meeting this leader of the pack.

But before he could do anything, Ken'ichi opens his snout: "We're here."

Rex, Chomper and Yu follow Ken'ichi through an opening and find themselves in a huge chamber, about half a mile wide and long. Numerous Longneck Biters of different colors stand by the walls and up on ledges around the walls watching the three visitors being led by Ken'ichi, their eyes following their figure as they walk more and more into the chamber.

Rex looks around at all the different shapes, sizes and colors of all the Longneck Biters present, overwhelming him from how numerous there are. Cubs and adolescents standing near their parents as they witness the Sickleclaw, Sharptooth, and…

Rex, Chomper and Yu stop their advance as Ken'ichi stops, his head bowed down in respect to the Longneck Biter in front of him.

Rex, Chomper and Yu set their gaze at the Alimon Ken'ichi is bowing in respect to. The Longneck Biter is 8 feet tall; his skin is silver all over with cloud-covered paws. His eyes are of pure gold color, his claws are blood-colored and his feathers are as silver as his skin. Friendly though dangerous, this leader of the pack is called Stone.

Standing to his left is his mate; 7 feet tall with bright leaf-green skin with blue jagged stripes with blue spots in-between the stripes. Her eyes are brown, the female fur from her head down to her shoulders is blue, and her claws are turquoise. A loving, pacifist creature, her name is Tree-star.

Donovan stands to Stone's right, upright and tall next to his leader and friend. "Stone, these are the Sharpteeth I told you about."

Stone looks at Yu, who in return gulps and tries to stand straight to face him. Stone moves his gaze to Chomper, who in return tries his best to get rid of his nervous state and tries to look brave.

Stone finally looks at Rex, blinking as he sees the treated wounds on Rex's muzzle, chest, arm and legs. Rex stands upright and tries to look his best despite the wounds all over his body, but his attempt drops in vain as he sags a bit, the wounds on his legs still ache and refuse to hold him up straight without hurting him.

Chomper and Yu look at Rex as he sags down, the two of them giving him a look before he tries again to stand up straight and give off a rather embarrassed grin.

Stone could only chuckle; he couldn't hold it in after realizing exactly who this Sharptooth is. "Greetings Rex, the Rock Rangers welcome you and your friends."

Purs, growls and roars of welcome fill the chamber, startling the three friends. They all look around at the Longneck Biters giving off their roars and welcoming them, assuring them here they're all in good hands.

Chomper and Yu smile at each other and grin at the welcome, but when they look at Rex their grins drop. The Sharptooth is confused as he stares at Stone.

"How…" He starts to mutter, "How does he know my name…?"

* * *

**AUTHOR NOTES**

- Kacie belongs to DarkHououmon.

--Chelsey belongs to one of DarkHououmon's friends, if I'm right.

---Ken'ichi belongs to me. Separate entity from the Ken'ichi in my Brother Bear story, Koda's Journey.


	7. Shadows in the light

Rex blinks. It seems the mention of his name stirred some talk and curiosity among the Longneck Biters. While some continued with their welcoming roars and growls others approached the kid in curiosity, some of them eyeing his wings while others eyed his face and arms. Heck, even some Longneck Biter pups weren't spared of the curiosity as they scrambled up to him and began sniffing around his feet and tail.

Chomper and Yu aren't even spared of being looked at by the adults and sniffed at by the curious pups.

**Rock Rangers' Home**

"Is this really him?"

"He looks rather cute."

"I thought he would be bigger than this."

Chomper and Yu could only giggle at the comments and how swamped Rex is of Longneck Biter pups and adults examining him.

"Gee Rex; you seem quite popular with them." Yu smirks.

"I guess…" Rex replies uncomfortably as he tries to avoid the pups scrambling about around him, lifting his tail a bit to keep from hitting the little ones or anybody in that matter.

He turns his head to Stone as he heard him chuckle at the rather popular dinosaur, and before he knew it his eyes narrowed, who exactly is this kook? How does he know his name and more importantly, why are all these young Longneck Biters interested in him?

"Rex…?" Yu begins as he notices the glare in Rex's eyes, but he didn't have a chance to continue as the kid makes his way to the Longneck Biter who gave them the welcome. Yu could only wince as he already expects Rex starting a scene.

Stone would watch calmly and coolly as Rex approaches him and stand by at the end of the boulder he, Tree-star and Doovan stand on, his dark blue eyes looking up at Stone's gold eyes.

"Something troubling you?" Stone coolly asks.

Rex just crosses his arms while looking up at Stone, "You could say that. I just got here, first time I meet you and your pack here. And then all of a sudden this whole pack acts like they've heard of me and you, especially you, know my name." Rex arches an eyebrow at Stone as he slightly turns away his face, "Now, I'm paranoid and frightened right about now, how _DO_ you know my name?"

Stone just laughed full-heartedly before responding to the child. "Ahhh…Rex my boy, the whole pack knows and has heard about you." He smiles at Rex and turns his head to the pack present in the chamber. "We fully know what you are, and in return we have kept a watchful eye on you ever since Littlefoot found you as an egg."

"What!?" Rex suddenly spits out, getting closer to Stone. "Littlefoot!? You know Littlefoot!?"

Stone grins. "Littlefoot, his grandparents, Cera, the Threehorn and his mate, Petrie, Spike, Ducky, the question is who do we _NOT _know."

Rex is flabbergasted, his mind trying to register the shock an disbelief that this pack, this whole pack, is familiar with his friends and apparently everyone who lives in it, clearly proof that this pack watches over the Great Valley and its inhabitants with great care.

But what kind of scares him is the fact that he knows his friends and family by name, just how close do they get to the Great Valley to catch wind of their names?

"So how do you know their names?" Yu inquires.

"Patrolling the valley." Donovan answers for Stone. "You'd be surprised at how much you can learn by just doing your job keeping the valley safe."

Chomper looks around the chamber, overwhelmed by the sheer number of the Longneck Biters in the area. His mind is still on those Longneck Biters that attacked them back at the cave. The Longneck Biter that hurt the three of them pretty badly until the others showed up…Hold up a minute…

"Hey!" Chomper cries out, getting the attention of his friends and the Longneck Biters nearby. "You say you're all protectors of the valley and show hospitality and friendliness toward us. But a while ago we were nearly killed by four of your own!"

Chomper narrows his eyes at Stone and Donovan, a look which made Donovan react to stand in front of Stone to protect him. Chomper continues with his speech, "What's the deal! Why did those four Longneck Biters attack us out of pure desire while you're all showing us hospitality and no desire to slaughter us like those others did!"

Donovan growls a warning, but Stone places his paw on Donovan's shoulder, getting the Longneck Biter to stop his growl and step aside, allowing Stone to step forward, his expression serious and his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

Rex and Yu gulped as they took a step back, believing Chomper's accusation got them on their bad side, getting them into more trouble that could possibly mean their life. Chomper didn't seem faced though, but Rex and Yu were already standing behind Chomper to get as far from the approaching Longneck Biter as possible.

"These Longneck Biters," Stone starts, his gaze now on the trio, "They had a scar on their left shoulder, did they not?"

Yu looked at Rex, who in turn looked at Chomper. The three of them nod and turn to Stone, Rex speaking out, "Yeah, a strange scar on their shoulders, each of them."

Stone turns around to the boulder behind him on which he stood. Lifting a paw up, he presses his claws against the boulder and grind them down, carving a symbol on the boulder's surface. He repeats the same process again, finishing the carving in shape of an X on the boulder, a symbol which sent chills down the trio's spine.

"That's the one!" Yu cries out, "That's the scar they had!"

Stone sighs as he looks at the symbol he just clawed onto the boulder, "Of course…The Rebellion."

"The what?" Chomper echoes.

"The Rebellion." Donovan growls. "They are a pack of Longneck Biters who have grown tired of our ways and believe we are degrading ourselves keeping our tradition of protecting the Great Valley for generations."

He growls more ferociously as memories come back to him of the first Longneck Biters who started this rebellion years ago. "They believe we should abandon the laws our ancestors set down generations ago and take what it's rightfully ours, becoming cold blooded assassins and slaughtering everything we see just for the enjoyment."

"They believe that's our natural way of life," Stone continues, "To become nothing but monsters and strike fear into anyone who mention our names."

Rex, Chomper and Yu are shocked. The Longneck Biters that have attacked them were part of this so called rebellion, a pack of Longneck Biters bent on converting their species into what they believe they are: The ultimate killing machine and slaughtering everything that gets in their way, just for the pleasure and enjoyment of the hunt.

Yu snarls in anger, the idea of them betraying the laws and ways of life set by their ancestors just boils his blood. He knows the laws are there for all intent and purposes, he knows the laws are to keep them from destroying the balance of life and nature, to keep the peace.

Judging by the way these Longneck Biters look, the laws have helped them live the good and comfortable life; it wouldn't make sense in destroying such a sacred sounding tradition and law just to turn, in a way, evil and wicked.

'_Sharpteeth only hunt for survival, never for pleasure or sport.' _Yu recited such wisdom in his mind.

Rex thought back on Donovan's explanation, suddenly sparking the urge to ask about one thing that got his attention. He opens his snout and begins, "When you said 'take what is rightfully ours,' what did they mean by taking what?"

"The place where you were born," Ken'ichi answered.

"What!?" Rex, Chomper and Yu cry out at the same time.

Ken'ichi nods, seeing that horrified look on Rex's face. "We've been protecting it for generations. The Rebellion believes the Great Valley is our property for protecting it all this time; they want to take control of the valley and slaughter everything inside as the cold blooded assassins they believe we are."

The trio looks at each other and thinks about this, this rebellion can't be serious, can they? To destroy such a beautiful haven for Leaf-Eaters just for their bloodlust, why would they do such a thing? Sure, they have protected it for generations, but does that really give them a reason to jump in and take over the place, slaughtering everyone inside of it?

"They're fools, all of them." Donovan snarls, "Their vision won't last. They might gain an abundance of food at first, but soon the Leaf-Eaters and Meat-Eaters will steer clear of the valley, destroying the valley in a wasteland of death and blood."

"Enough." Tree-Star demands after seeing the horrified and anguished expression in Rex's face, feeling sorry for the kid. "Talking about the Rebellion now won't accomplish anything. We have guests among us, we should make them feel welcomed and relief them of their injuries and stress."

Stone could only smile at his mate, indeed she was right, after having a close call with the Rebellion these children should not be stressed out even more by them, they are in their care and they shall do their best in helping them relax from such a deadly encounter before letting them go on their way from wherever they came from.

"Correct as always, Tree-Star…" Stone complements, he then jumps on top of the boulder and turns to his pack present in the chamber, "Longneck Biters! Show some hospitality toward our guests as they explore our homes! Help them unwind from their strenuous lives!"

Rex, Chomper and Yu flinch at that comment; their lives aren't that strenuous…Is it?

Stone looks down at Ken'ichi, "Lead them around and show them Cliff's Edge."

Ken'ichi bows his head in respect, "I will, Stone."

"Good." Stone nods before roaring out to his pack dismissed. Soon the chamber comes to life as all the Longneck Biters return to their work and homes, some of them staying behind for one last look at the trio while others return to their homes.

Stone glances at Chomper and grins as he turns around to leave. "And find the blue Sharptooth a mate!" He suddenly shouts.

"Huh!?" Chomper retaliates at the comment; his only response is Stone's sudden laughter before the Sharptooth realizes he was just kidding. He stares as Stone, Tree-Star and Donovan leaves while Ken'ichi is chuckling to himself.

"Same ol' Stone…" Ken'ichi chuckles, "Always with the jokes."

Chomper growls, "I didn't find it funny one bit!"

Rex and Yu couldn't help but laugh as well; Chomper's expression was just priceless.

* * *

Vlad walks around in the woods of Crescent Valley, trying to find his friends Kedem and Shino. Their parents said they were around the valley, but he wasn't expecting to have such a hard time finding them.

He checked the lake, nothing there. He checked around the caves they like to hang out, no signs of them there. He looks around the forest sniffing the air, trying to catch their scents, but so far he's not having such luck in finding them.

"Where are they…?" Vlad whispers to himself. He suddenly hears some commotion in the bushes to his right, causing the child to turn 90 degrees to his right, "Who's there!?" He calls, but to no answer comes back.

His eyes narrow slightly as he waits for another sound, but to his dismay silence settles down instead, which starts to make the kid nervous of staying there waiting for something to happen.

He shakes off the fear and continues along his way, taking in a deep breath to calm down his beating heart. "Calm down, Vlad…It was probably just the wind…"

He suddenly hears more rustling, this one sounding so close it made Vlad jump and drop to the ground with his belly pressed against the ground, a stealth position any creature walking on four legs would position itself when being stalked.

Vlad narrows his eyes to the direction the rustling came from and slowly approaches it while actually walking on all fours like any Longneck, Three-Horn, even a Longneck Biter would walk. His kind may have the ability to walk upright, but even his kind has the ability to walk and run gracefully on all four like any feral creature.

Vlad sniffs the air as he approaches the spot carefully, readying himself in case of an assault or attack. He sees a bush rustle in front of him. Perfect! He has it now…

"Got you…" Vlad mutters as he slowly gets up with his humanoid paws ready for the catch. He was, however, taken by surprise as a small creature jumps from the bush and onto Vlad, making the dinosaur shriek as he fell down onto a leaned back sitting position, breathing heavily as the creature stands on his chest.

It was nothing more than a little mouse, its cute face and whiskers looking up at his face, slightly tilting its head as it keeps staring at Vlad's face. He sighs in relief and growls at the mouse, scaring it and getting it off his chest and scrambling back into the woods.

"Little creep…" Vlad mutters as he gets up, dusting himself of that little scare and fall. "I don't need this…Kedem, Shino, where are you guys…"

Vlad flinches as he hears more rustlings, already speculating that little mouse is back again roaming about. He growls as he picks up a scent; no, this isn't the mouse, this is something else. What is it, he doesn't know, but it's not that mouse or his friends.

"Who's there!?" Vlad calls out as he gets ready for his pounce, making sure he doesn't get surprised by a little rodent again.

The creature stalking Vlad shoots out at him, catching Vlad by surprise at the size of it; the creature strong enough to topple him down and pin him to the ground.

Vlad gasped and froze as he stared up at the creature pinning him down. The creature's yellow skin with brown coloring its nose, between its brows, back of neck all the way to tip of its tail along with red violet skin from its top lip, underside of its neck, chest, belly, and halfway under its tail. His eyes froze as his gaze looked right into the creature's eyes, its blue sclera and light blue irises glaring right down at him.

Vlad choked a gasp; this creature is a Longneck Biter…One he remembers from his early childhood…

"A…Axel…" Vlad breathes terrified.

"Awwww, Vladie boy remembers good ol' Axel!" Axel taunts with her scary grin, pressing her snout against Vlad's, "How's my ol' friend doing these days!?"

Vlad growls, how he wishes this Longneck Biter would just die or leave him alone. Axel has been making it a habit to 'visit' her 'ol' friend' recently. Though the encounters are very rare, every time she shows up it spells trouble for Vlad; whether it's an attempted murder or just merely toying with his mind with the horrible memories from his early childhood.

Either way it spelled danger for Vlad…

"I'm not your friend…" Vlad growls, "And you're not my friend either!"

He throws his arms up to push Axel off, but the Longneck Biter simply jumps off of him before she would get tossed off. Vlad quickly rolls over and picks himself up, backing away from Axel on all four in a feral position, not daring to waste any time in getting up onto his humanoid position. Against a Longneck Biter, every second counts.

"My my, you're up on the wrong side of the cave today," Axel teases as she circles around the kid, her tail wagging back and forth slowly as if trying to hypnotize the child. She stops and grins maliciously as Vlad, exposing her razor sharp teeth. "What's wrong? Your friends ditched you?"

Vlad growls, "What's it to you!? They haven't ditched me! They're just somewhere in the valley playing or something…"

"And they leave you behind? Some friends…" She laughed, clearly seeing how ticked off Vlad is getting at her taunts. "You keep losing everyone, you haven't changed a bit."

Vlad snarls and jumps in for the attack, swinging a paw to slash at his offender. But Axel, being the fast Longneck Biter that she is, jumps aside and skillfully dodges the attack, almost leaving Vlad to slam headfirst into a tree.

Vlad turns to Axel with a snarl, his own sharp teeth exposed as he glares at the Alimon that he despises.

"You really need to work on your anger." Axel teases coolly, enjoying in getting on Vlad's bad side.

"I hate you so much…" Vlad growls, taking notice of the slash wound on Axel's muzzle, she must've been in a fight some time ago.

Axel puts on a shocking face just to mock the kid, "Awww, don't tell me you still hold a grudge."

"Drop dead!!" Vlad threatens as he charges in and jumps for a pounce.

Axel allows the pounce to connect as she is knocked to the ground and pinned by Vlad, who brings up a paw and sends it down to her face. Axel however brings up a paw and grabs Vlad's paw, stopping it from slamming on her face.

Axel just grins as she holds up Vlad's paw, "The face again, Vlad? How predictable."

She begins squeezing Vlad's paw in hers, sinking her red claws into Vlad's paw. The kid cries out in pain as his paw is being squeezed along with her claws being thrusted into his flesh, blood starting to ooze out.

Axel lets go and pushes Vlad off of her, chuckling maliciously to herself, "You're just like her in her last moments."

Vlad's eyes widen and his growl soon intensifies. How dare she get her into this? How dare she taunt her? Vlad glares at his injured paw as it bleeds; he wants to rip her apart in every way imaginable, after what she has done to her…

"You leave her out of this!!" He shouts as he turns to her, fire in his eyes.

Axel just didn't seemed faced, she just grins in a very evil way as the memories come back to her. How she made her suffer before ending her life.

To Axel that was her best hunt ever, and how she wishes to go through the same again. "Hahahahahah…" She laughs, "Ahhh, Vlad my boy, how I enjoyed that day…"

"Shut up!!" Vlad screams and charges in to shut her up, but Axel jumps to the side and slams her powerful tail against Vlad's stomach, knocking the wind out of the kid and tossing him back against a tree, leaving the kid to cough and gasp for breath as he clutches his stomach.

"You really miss her, don't you?" Axel asks in a rather pitiful manner as she slowly closes in on the kid, but it is clearly obvious Axel is just toying with him, guilt about what she had done is nonexistent with her, she would love to do it again as her sudden grin can tell. "Maybe I should grant you that wish!"

Vlad coughs again as he slowly picks himself up, but his efforts are in vain as Axel slams him again to the tree, this time pouncing him against it and pinning him. Vlad cried in pain as the slam was powerful against his back, Axel's red claws threatening to sink into his shoulders.

"Oh how I enjoy the taste of your kind…" Axel whispers to Vlad. She then opens her mouth, salivating at the thought of killing this child and tasting the flesh of his kind once more…

"Leave him alone!"

Axel yelps as a rock hits her point blank on her head, shaking her head from the sting, the distraction long enough for Vlad to kick the Longneck Biter off of him and get away from his pinned position.

Axel snarls as she gets up and turns, spotting two more kids, one holding another rock while the other is picking up another. One of them is green while the other is black with a red underside from under his jaw down to the underside of his tail.

"Get away from him if you know what's good for you!" The black one cries out.

"You mess with him, you mess with us too!" The green one adds.

Axel scoffs, she can easily take down all three of them; after all they're just kids. She looks over at Vlad who's already standing and backing away from her. Her plan of another meal was just once again cancelled, but maybe this was for the better. After all, she has to report back to the leader of the Rebellion, also she can't forget why she came to Crescent Valley for.

She starts laughing, confusing the three kids.

"What's so funny!?" Vlad inquires.

She stops laughing, smirking at the kids. "You three. Hahah! Your kind is unaware of what's happening around here, are you?" She starts laughing again as she takes note of the kids looking at each other, of course they don't know what's going on. "Soon your kind will find out, and when you do…Well, you'll be thanking us!"

The kids blink at that statement. Thank them? Who's them? "What are you talking about?" Vlad asks.

"Why waste my time telling!" Axel spits out, backing away from them into the shadows of the forest. "Soon everything will be in motion, and then you'll end up with a choice that'll determine whether you die or not. And when that time comes…" She grins at Vlad, "I'll be looking forward into killing you and the rest of your kind!"

Vlad is confused, staring at Axel. "Huh? Wait!"

But it was too late; Axel has already turned tail and left the scene, leaving behind those confusing words for the kids to ponder and decipher.

End up with a choice? Whether they'll die or not? What did Axel meant? Just what is she up to? What does she mean?

"Whew…I'm glad that Longneck Biter is gone…" The green one, Kedem, sighs.

"Who was that Longneck Biter?" The black one, Shino, asks as he approaches Vlad.

Vlad, however, was just silent, staring at where Axel left. He soon starts growling, unable to hide his anger and hatred toward that Longneck Biter.

He will never forgive her for what she has done, never forgive how she always mock and toy with his mind and sanity, never forgive how many times she has tried to kill him and hurt him.

"I'll make you pay, Axel…"

* * *

"Boy, these tunnels are long…" Rex comments as he journeys through the tunnels of the Longneck Biter home with his friends. He has never been through such long tunnels, stretching practically thorough the whole valley mountain walls, just how huge is this pack?

"Too long if you ask me…" Yu breathes, growing tired of such long walks. "Just how far is this Cliff's Edge Stone mentioned?"

"Just a bit further…" Ken'ichi replies.

The trio sighs, their legs growing tired. They're not used to walking this far without even taking a break. With the bright circle hitting down on them in the Mysterious Beyond they would always stop for breaks every once in a while to cool down, but now in the cool caverns of the Rock Ranger's home they thought they could go on without breaks, but they were wrong.

These tunnels are practically hills going upwards and some of them going downwards, pebbles and rocks here and there to slow them down and hurt their feet. Rex shakes his head, how can Longneck Biters live like this? They can't be that strong and capable, could they?

Chomper starts to sag on his walk until he drops down onto a sitting position, panting. "Could we take a break?" He pleads. "I'm beat…"

"Ahhh, I thought you'd never ask." Rex comments as he too falls down onto a sitting position on the ground, his back resting against the cave walls. Yu also didn't waste time in lying down to rest, at least they don't have the Bright Circle zapping their energy with such temperature, and they'll be all rested up and ready to go in no time.

"Pfeh, amateurs." Ken'ichi smirks.

"Yo, Zitro!"

Ken'ichi's blinks not at the voice, but at the name he was just called. Rex, Chomper and Yu turn their heads toward the direction of the voice, seeing another Longneck Biter approaching them from the darkness of the cave.

While difficult to see, the trio can tell the Longneck Biter's red skin with green stripes from just above his nostrils up his head and down his neck and spine to the tip of his tail. 6 and a half feet tall with black claws and four green feathers with the remaining two red, this Longneck Biter is one tough and brave creature to take on, his name is Tanner.-

"What's up, Zitro!" Tanner greets with a smirk, acknowledging the company. "I see you have some friends over. Going to Cliff's Edge, huh?"

Rex, Chomper and Yu look at each other before turning their heads to Ken'ichi, inquiring in unison, "Zitro?"

Ken'ichi's eyes shift back and forth before settling on his friend with a soft glare, lowering his head a bit. "Tanner…Ex-Nay on the Ames-Nay…"

Tanner chuckles as he approaches the group, nudging his friend with a smirk. "I like calling you by your real name. Sure, 'Ken'ichi' is a great sounding nickname, but why abandon your real name?"

"I didn't abandon it." Ken'ichi defends. "I just prefer being called 'Ken'ichi' rather than my real name."

Rex, Chomper and Yu look at each other, not really understanding what's going on here.

Apparently Ken'ichi's real name is Zitro, yet seems like Ken'ichi is trying to avoid being called by his real name for some reason. They shrug it off; maybe he just prefers being called Ken'ichi rather than Zitro.

Tanner smiles as he shakes his head, "Whatever floats your boat." He turns his head to Rex, Yu and Chomper, his smile fading a bit. "So, who are you three?"

"Uhhh…I'm Yu…" Yu informs uncomfortably.

"I'm Rex." Rex goes next with a nod.

"And I'm Chomper." Chomper is last with a firm look and a slight smile.

Tanner nods, "The name's Tanner; a pleasure to meet new faces during these hard times."

"Speaking of hard times…" Ken'ichi starts as he approaches Tanner. "What else have you uncovered from the Rebellion?"

Tanner shakes his head, "Nothing else. Their numbers invading the valley have decreased dramatically lately, it has me worried…"

Rex's eyes widen at his report, gulping as he felt his heart take a dive. He didn't expect that gang of Longneck Biters already made their way into the valley.

What about Littlefoot, Cera, Spike, Ducky and Petrie? Have they fallen prey to this gang of Longneck Biters as well? Rex just can't live with himself if that happens, not after all they went through last year and his promise he did to Littlefoot. He would be crushed if he couldn't keep his promise.

Tanner noticed Rex's horrified face and slightly tilts his head. "You alright?"

Ken'ichi looks at Rex, him too noticing the expression even though the kid was quick in hiding it with replacing it with a slight grin. Ken'ichi's eyes narrow and turns his gaze to Tanner, "He's afraid the rebellion has preyed upon his friends in the valley."

"Oh," Tanner responds with a slight smirk. "The Longneck and his friends."

Rex gasps, "What? You know him too?"

Tanner chuckles. "Of course I know him. I'm one of the spies and assassins of the Rock Rangers, one of my jobs is to keep an eye on the rebellions that enter the valley and gather as much information as I can."

Spies and Assassins are those carefully chosen Longneck Biters who are in charge of keeping an eye on enemy packs and gather information on whatever they are told to gather information from. As for the latter, well, the name speaks for itself.

Tanner smiles at Rex reassuringly, "Don't worry, they're fine."

The trio smiles and sighs in relief, happy to hear their friends aren't harmed.

Soon after a roar echoes through the tunnels, a roar that makes Ken'ichi flinch and growl, "Oh you got to be kidding me…" He shakes his head and continues, "They want me to report to the troops for more training…Guess I won't be showing them Cliff's Edge like Stone told me to…"

"Bummer…" Yu sighs disappointedly.

Tanner lowers his head, "What luck…"

For the moment it seems as if the group befell in a state of silence as if the world's biggest disappointment has dawned on them. While Rex, Chomper and Yu don't have a clue what Cliff's Edge is about, they're pretty sure it must be quite something for the leader himself to recommend Ken'ichi to show it to them.

Suddenly Tanner had a brainstorm, and with a slight grin he opens his snout, "Say, since you guys are already almost there, why don't I show these guys Cliff's Edge for you."

Ken'ichi lifts his head and looks at Tanner, starting to smile. "Will ya?"

Tanner nods, "You can count on me."

Ken'ichi smiles, "Thanks buddy." He turns around and starts to head down the cave. But before he does he looks back at the group. "Fellas, just stick with Tanner and you'll have the best view ever. Have fun."

Rex, Chomper and Yu watch as the black Longneck Biter takes his leave for his duty, the question of why he refuses to being called his real name still lingering. They look at each other, best not to touch that subject with him; it sounds and looks rather personal to him.

"Well," Rex, Chomper and Yu turn their heads to Tanner, "shall we get going then?"

The trio nods and gets up, following Tanner through the tunnel and, once again, question themselves how could Longneck Biters live in such rough terrain to walk, pebbles and boulders everywhere along with up hills and sudden down hills.

Rex yelps as he stubs his toes against a rock and trips, falling belly first onto the ground, slamming his chin on the cold, hard ground.

The group stops to look at the kid on the ground, who just growls and shouts irritatedly: "How do you Longneck Biters live in this!?"

* * *

Zebulon was at a loss. He sighed heavily as he sat on the corner of his cave, deep in thought. On one paw he has his brother to follow, but on the other…

He shook the thought away. No, he's destined to follow the Darkarians. He cannot betray them now, no matter what he feels about their objectives. He can't let his mind rip him away from where he belongs, his destiny.

And yet…His heart is telling him to go, to go back to what he really believes in…Back there with the Rock Rangers…

Zebulon is a Longneck Biter. Black with grey skin from under his jaw down his neck, stopping right above his chest; two feathers on his head are black while the rest are grey. His eyes are a pair of ruby red. This is the same one that gave Rex, Chomper and Yu trouble some time ago. The Longneck Biter who feared seeing Donovan again for whatever reason he holds.

Zebulon sighs, thinking about what his pack is really doing. He was always a close follower of the rules and laws the Rock Rangers follow. Laws set down by the ancestors of all Longneck Biters, Shatki.

Zebulon shakes his head and buries his face in his paws, what has he become? All his life he was devoted to follow the Rock Rangers, he gained Stone's and Donovan's trust ever since he started being a Scouter. Heck, he was even considered in being ranked as an Assassin.

Scouters are the most common ranks of a Longneck Biter pack, the ones who are in charge of scouting for food and resources when told to do so. Assassins are the most trusted Longneck Biters in the pack, in charge of taking out dangerous adversaries.

He looks at the X scar on his left shoulder, immediately tempted to slash it off his shoulder and go back to the Rock Rangers. However, other thoughts prevent him from doing so.

He won't be able to just walk back to the pack; they would kill him for betraying them in the first place.

He snarls, hating himself for doing such a horrible thing to the pack he has known all his life. But he doesn't have to be worried of those thoughts anymore, for this pack is his new family now, the ones who watch his back now.

And he better be wise in not being caught in his thoughts of betraying them too to try to go back to the Rock Rangers…

"Zebulon!"

Zebulon winces at the voice calling out his name, for he knows to whom that voice belongs to. And how he dreads such fact…

"What are you doing in here!? I said I wanted everyone outside!"

"Apologies," Zebulon replies sternly, keeping his head up high as he tries to hide the slight fear in his face, which is easy to do with the advantage of having his back turned to the figure. "I was just…Um…"

"Just what!?" The voice spits, once again making Zebulon wince. "Not thinking of betraying us, are you!?"

"N-No…" Zebulon replies, his fear suddenly subsiding and his eyes narrowing. "I will never even consider that…"

"Good." The voice continues. The figure behind him looms closer to him, a Longneck Biter. "I'm sure you still haven't forgotten how they treated you after…Well, you know."

Zebulon growls, his claws sinking deep into the ground. "I will never forget…"

"That's right." The Longneck Biter grins, placing an arm over Zebulon's shoulder. "The way they shunned you…The brother of the Darkarians leader, just because of that connection they turn their backs on you immediately. Such a waste on their part…"

Zebulon lowers his head, while what the Longneck Biter says it's not one-hundred percent true, the pack did treat him a bit unfairly because of his relationship with the leader of the Darkarians.

They immediately expected he would betray them just because of that, and immediately they put him on surveillance and under a watchful eye, kept their cautions against him. He hated it, they stripped him from the freedom he had with them, everything just to be on the 'safe side' as they told each other. Zebulon couldn't take it anymore, so he jumped ship and went with the Darkarians to join his brother.

And while he couldn't make it as being an Assassin for the Rock Rangers, he certainly made the Commander rank in the Darkarians.

"Yes it was…" Zebulon replies, "They'll pay for such injustice…"

The Longneck Biter grins evilly, "And I know just how to do it."

* * *

"Ow…Ow…Ow…Ow…" Rex complained each and every time his injured foot touched the ground. The terrain of the tunnel has not been kind to his feet.

"Will you stop complaining!? I'm getting a headache!" Now it was Chomper's turn to complain.

"Sorry…" Rex apologized with a slight grin, but that was soon dropped as he began to feel tired again. "How much longer, Tanner?"

"It won't be long now…" Tanner answered. Soon they found themselves going up hill again, and soon their faces beamed as they saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

The trio cheered, they finally arrived! They soon made a dash toward the exit, feeling that Cliff's Edge is worth the torture they've been through in such tough terrain. Tanner kept in the lead, stopping and turning to the group at the foot of the exit, stopping them.

"Eh? What's wrong?" Yu inquires, "Why are we stopping?"

Tanner chuckles, "It's not called Cliff's Edge for nothing." He turns and slowly walks outside, disappearing in the bright glow of the Bright Circle.

The trio looks at each other and decides to follow his example, slowly walking outside toward the light. All three of them couldn't help but shut their eyes as soon as they got out, blinded by the Bright Circle after being so long underground in the dark. They slowly open their eyes and blink a few times, adjusting to the brightness.

"Welcome to Cliff's Edge." Tanner announces.

Rex rubs his eyes and slowly opens them again, blinking as his eyes begin to show the view in front of him.

"Whoa!" Yu exclaims.

"Awesome…" Chomper admits in awe.

Rex blinks a few times and his jaw drops, taken by surprise at what he sees…


	8. Amazing creature and a forgotten species

First let me point fingers at fellow author, Key19. As I was writing this chapter he challenged me to write a chapter as long as his and, as daring as I am, accepted and never backed down. So, this is the long chapter XD

Although I must thank him, for this chapter moves the story much faster and won't have a lot of short chapters uploaded and make the chapter count huge. It also makes an excellent way to make it up to you readers for making you wait 2 months.

In addition, I dedicate this chapter to my father, who sadly passed away in October 28th.

**CHAPTER 8  
An amazing creature...A Forgotten species**

The trio quickly made their way to the edge of their ground and look in awe at the view. In front of them lay a beautiful sight of the Great Valley. Green fields as far as the eye can see; green trees around the valley walls and patches of them thorough the fields of green; a sparkling trail of water snaking from one side of the valley to the other; the protective mountain walls snaking and spiking around the outer edges of the other side far in the distance and several buttes riddling the valley here and there with trees riddling their bases…

A beautiful sight to take in and take your time to appreciate the beauty of nature…

**Cliff's Edge**

The trio of friends turns to their left at the roar of rushing water and gasp in awe, seeing the waterfall of the Great Valley up close and personal. The waterfall strikes down and covers a path of the area they're in, thus making the path impassable due to the pressure.

The area also looks perfect to take a good shower on the edge of the fall…

"Wow…" Yu whispers in awe, amazed at the beauty of the area and its view.

Tanner chuckles and motions his head toward the waterfall. "Hey, go look down over there."

The trio looks at each other and approaches the waterfall, looking down just at the edge of the cliff, another view that takes their breath away. Just below them is the pond on which the waterfall ends to, where a few numbers of the Great Valley inhabitants are drinking their fill of water, refreshing themselves and just plain relaxing.

Rex went down on his hands and knees on the edge for a closer look, grinning to himself as he witnesses the residents of the valley relaxing and enjoying themselves in their home. In a way Rex envies them, so carefree to relax in a place where they know they won't be attacked from Sharpteeth, something Rex hasn't been able to do since he left the Great Valley. Rex's happy grin soon shatters into a frown as his eyes start to lower, sadness and sorrow soon filling his heart as the memories flood his mind. The memories of the times he has spent together with Littlefoot and the gang in this same pond…So close to home…

Chomper, on the other hand, seems pretty happy and eager to see the Great Valley again after so many years since he first hatched. "Wow! Look at them all!" He happily exclaims. "Man this place is better than I remembered!"

Yu grins as he looks down at the Leaf-Eaters and just had the urge to bark out: "Hey guys! Having fun, huh!?"

Chomper and Rex's eyes widen as their expression changes to shock and sudden fear as Yu just blurted out such a thing, risking of blowing not only their cover but the Alimon's. Heck, it even made Tanner flinch. Panicking to shut him up, Rex and Chomper tackles Yu down, "Yu!!" The duo dog piles on him and clamp his muzzle shut.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Chomper inquires, not bothering to allow the Sickleclaw to speak as they all hold his muzzle shut. The Sickleclaw tries to struggle to get his muzzle free but to no success as the duo's grasps are too strong for him.

"Heh! Kids." Tanner smirks to himself.

Rex turns his head and nervously grins at Tanner, still holding the unfortunate Sickleclaw down. "Sorry about that, Yu sometimes gets carried away."

Tanner shakes his head, "No worries mate, not like they can see us from up here anyway."

Rex and Chomper shot a look at Yu before letting him go and getting off of him, allowing the Sickleclaw to catch his breath and get up again. Soon after the trio were facing the view of the Great Valley again, admiring the beauty of the sight. While barely, Rex can make out the rock formations far off that belong to Saurus Rock and Three Horn Peak. The rock formations that resemble a Long Neck and a Three Horn…

The view of those rock formations brings back to Rex memories of Littlefoot's stories of his adventures on those mountains. How the valley had a story of Saurus Rock bringing bad luck if broken or tempted with, and when the Stone of Cold Fire fell on top of Three Horn Peak and caused Petrie's uncle, Pterano, to search for the stone, believing it had some mystical power of sort. Along with the rock formations Rex recognizes the Smoky Mountains, the volcanoes of the valley.

Yu looks at Rex, seeing the Sharptooth's expression a bit down and occupied as he stares at the valley's sight. "…Rex?"

"Hm?" He looks to his right at Yu.

"Are you…OK?" Yu asks, worried about his friend's state of mind being so close to his home.

Rex blinks and buries his face into his humanoid paws, rubbing his face for a bit before retracting his paws from his face, replacing his old expression with a grin and a rather happy expression. "Heheh! Of course I am!" He responds, "Just feeling a bit homesick, that's all!"

"The beauty of Cliff's Edge," Tanner starts as he takes a few steps forward and stands next to Rex, his majestic feathers swaying in the breeze of the cliff's edge. "You can see the whole Great Valley and all its inhabitants; it's one of our best lookout spots for our patrols."

"I can see why…" Chomper replies in awe.

"It's incredible…" Yu adds as his eyes still scan the beauty in front of them. "I never thought the Great Valley was this huge…"

Rex's eyes lower in sadness again, his head slowly drooping down. "Yeah…It is pretty huge…"

"Hey! Tanner!" A voice calls from behind them. The group tenses up and turns around, spotting a young-looking Alimon approaching them.

This young Alimon has an emerald green skin color but gray skin on his muzzle and chest all the way down his belly and underside of his tail. His claws red and his eyes a pair of dark blue. Cautious at times and always willing to make new friends, he is the son of the Rock Ranger's leader. Name: Emerald.

"Ah, Emerald." Tanner smiles warmly as the adolescent Alimon approaches them. "What's up, lil'guy!"

Emerald giggles and gives a playful glare at Tanner, "Aw c'mon! I'm not little anymore!" He grins but freezes in his place as his grin drops, his eyes setting on Rex, Chomper and Yu. As cautious as he is, Emerald backs up from them and hides behind Tanner. "Tanner, who are they?"

Tanner chuckles and motions his head toward Rex and the others. "Emerald, these are our honorable guests for today; Rex, Chomper, and Yu." He turns his head to the trio and motions his head to the Alimon adolescent. "Guys, this is Emerald, Stone's son."

Rex smiled as Emerald cautiously emerged from behind Tanner and approaches them, his eyes glancing back and forth eyeing and scanning the three Sharpteeth in front of him. Rex smiles and holds out a humanoid paw at the adolescent, "Hey there Emerald, pleased to meet ya."

"_His smile seems sincere,"_ Emerald thought. He smiles and looks at the three of them, "Nice to meet ya too!" He circles around excitedly around the trio, causing them to nervously eye the Alimon as he circles around them. "A Sickleclaw…" Emerald mutters as he finishes circling around the trio, "A Sharptooth…" He stops in front of Rex and tilts his head a bit. "And you are…Ummm…" Rex sighs a bit, a small guilt overpowering him as he doesn't know the name of his own kind to tell him. His mind goes back to that very first Alimon he and his friends bumped into, the one that got them into so much trouble in the first place. Apparently that Alimon knows about his kind…

"Oh wait!" Rex blinks and looks at Emerald. "Now I remember!" Rex soon beams, could it be? Does this Alimon know the name of his species? About the kind he belongs to? Rex was so happy at the moment that he was practically leaning forward at Emerald to listen.

Emerald grins, "Of course! You're a flyer!"

Rex's smile soon drops in disappointment, his jaw slightly dropping as his arms go limp. Not the kind of word he was expecting at all. "Uhhh…Excuse me?" He presses, having a feeling Emerald might be holding back.

Tanner chuckles a bit. "Sorry, he's just nearing his adolescence and he's still new to what lies beyond our pack. Other than in the stories and teachings, he hasn't seen much of other Sharpteeth and Leaf Eaters."

"Don't underestimate me, Tanner!" Emerald replies with a slight grin. "I can still take care of myself when away from the pack!" He glances at Rex and looks at Tanner, and what he is about to say next will make Tanner flinch. "Besides, this isn't the first time I've seen his kind. It's just that I don't know what his kind is exactly."

"Huh!?" The trio cries out in unison. Rex shakes his head and takes two steps forward, inclining a bit forward holding out a humanoid paw at Emerald, "Wha-What did you say!?"

Tanner quickly grabs Emerald and wraps his paw around Emerald's snout, shutting him up from telling any more. The trio look at each other and then back at Tanner who's holding onto a squirming Emerald. Strange situation, why would Tanner get so jumpy and keep Emerald from talking about seeing, if they heard right, another one of Rex's kind? Rex growled a bit to himself and leans a bit toward Tanner, "First time seeing what? What wasn't the first time he didn't see!?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Tanner quickly replies as he drags Emerald a bit away from the gang and sets him down. He softly glares at him, getting the adolescent Alimon uneasy and taking a step back. "What?" He inquires, "What did I do?"

"Emerald…" Tanner whispers, "Remember what your father told us. We must not meddle in their affairs and their rules."

Emerald gasps, his memory returning to him now. He lowers his head and fumbles his forepaws' claws together, feeling bad and sorry for almost breaking such rules. "I'm sorry…" He apologizes, "I just forgot with all the excitement I guess…"

Rex, Chomper and Yu look at each other, feeling like they've just been shoved into a dark corner. Their curiosity has just been tickled by what Tanner stopped Emerald from saying, but the one who was actually sucked into it was Rex. Whatever Emerald was about to say it was related to his species, and he's not going to accept being kept in the dark about it like this. Rex shoots a mild glare at Tanner's direction and takes two steps forward. "Hey, don't hide anything from me; what about me not being the first one Emerald has seen!?"

Tanner turns his head toward Rex and shakes his head. "We're not-" A roar echoes out from the tunnels within, startling the group from their situation and turn heads to the tunnel entry. Tanner gives a sigh of relief, not a moment too soon. He turns his head to Emerald and motions his head to the cave, "Let's go." Emerald gives a slight nod and heads into the tunnel entry, disappearing in the shadows of the tunnels. Tanner was about to enter as well before a gang of three Sharpteeth gets ahead of him and cut him off, standing in front of him and facing the Alimon. "What?"

Rex crosses his arms while giving a mild glare at the Alimon, clearly not feeling all too happy about the Alimon keeping this information to himself. Yu takes a step forward toward Tanner, "Listen…Umm, Tanner was it?" After a nod from Tanner he continues. "Look, we've been through a lot recently, but who really suffered was my friend, Rex. He's traveling with me and my pack in search of any signs about his own kind, his parents, who he really is. He's really eager to find anything that would lead him to the truth."

Chomper nods, "Rex has really been trying to find his answers. And while I respect your reasons for keeping whatever your hiding from us Rex has the right to know about what Emerald was going to say. We know it has something to do about his kind, Emerald's statement told us enough of that already."

Tanner looks at Yu and Chomper. The two of them have stern looks on their faces and determination in their eyes; they're really serious about helping Rex in finding the answers to his questions. He slightly looks up at Rex's face, still seeing that mild glare set on him, no one would have that kind of look on their faces if they weren't dead serious about their goals, and Rex isn't showing any signs of backing down. Tanner sighs in defeat, "My condolences to you, Rex. But…" He shakes his head, "I'm sorry but it is not my place to tell you, I am not allowed to."

Rex could've sworn he felt his heart stop. He was close, so close to finding out at least the name of his kind, but all he has achieved was running into another dead end. He felt rage rush through his veins, his teeth gritted behind his sealed lips, his blood rushing through his veins so fast he thought his wounds would re-open again under the patches of herbs and leaves. Chomper and Yu both turn their heads to their friend, both of them feeling sorry for him. Yu knows how desperate Rex has gotten lately about finding the answers to his questions. He remembers how one time Rex almost went berserk on a Sickleclaw who apparently knew all too well what Rex was; and he was very afraid of him to boot. Instead of doing things calmly Rex hunted that Sickleclaw down, which obviously resulted in the Sickleclaw in running away from him. Unfortunately, Rex accidentally chased him down a cliff, ending the Sickleclaw's life. Rex was so angry for the next few days he was almost unreachable without being growled and glared at. He was that depressed.

Yu looks back at Tanner and speaks for Rex. "Can't you just tell us in secret? We won't tell anyone."

Tanner shakes his head, "It's more complicated than just a rule set by Stone." He starts to walk by the trio and into the tunnels, not getting any resistance to leave from Rex. "Trust me; you'd get in SO much trouble if you learn this beforehand."

Rex stays there as Tanner leaves with a sad sigh. He just can't believe how close he was to finding out his answers. So close…

"I'm sorry…" Yu whispers to Rex.

"We couldn't get anything out of him…" Chomper adds.

Rex sighs as his arms and shoulders sag, his wings folding close against his back in disappointment. He felt like just giving a loud roar to the sky just to let everything out, his rage, his anger, his desperation, everything. Instead he settled with just dropping to the ground on a sitting position, frustratingly slamming his fist onto the soil. "So close…" He sighs as he lifts his head to Chomper and Yu, "I mean, what's the big deal about just telling me? It's not like we'll go around telling everybody he told us."

Chomper shrugs. Just suddenly he recalls what Tanner said, about Stone not allowing him to tell anyone about such information. "Hm…Maybe there's more to Stone than we think."

"Stone…" Rex mutters. He remembers that Alimon all too well, the one who gave them a very warm welcome, the one who joked about finding Chomper a mate. He looked like a nice dinosaur, but now he's on Rex's bad side for keeping him from learning anything about his kind. His anger was getting the best of him again, Rex growls as he slowly stands up and turns around facing the tunnel. Chomper and Yu slightly back away as they see Rex's glare and growl, gulping as they fear from another anger episode from their friend. "Re-Rex?" Yu stutters.

Rex kept staring at the tunnel's entrance, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "If Tanner can't tell me because of him…Then I'll go straight to him…"

"What?" Chomper said in surprise. Did he just heard right? Is Rex actually considering in facing the leader of the pack himself and speak against his rules? Chomper shakes his head, this is one baaaaaaaad idea. Doing so could kick them out, or worse. Yu glances at Chomper, both of them are not in agreement of this. "Uhhh…" Yu starts, "Rex, maybe you shouldn't-"

"Oh, and I should aimlessly run around the Mysterious Beyond for another hundreds of Bright Circles searching for something I can find out right here and right now!" Rex bares his teeth at his friends, an action he rarely does. "I'm not going to forget about this chance just because of some leader of a pack! Alimon or not, I'm not going to take this sitting down!"

"Calm down, Rex." Yu tries to calm Rex down, but it's already apparent the kid is far from being able to calm down. Rex looks at Yu with a mean glare. Yu couldn't believe how enraged Rex is, he barely recognizes the gentle and carefree Sharptooth he has known for over a year now; he's like a completely different Sharptooth when he's this angry. Yu gulps, "Um…I don't think you should go up to him like this…You know…All angry and…" He is so startled and afraid of Rex's anger that he cannot speak correctly; he has always hated speaking to Rex when he's this angry.

"I don't care if I should talk to him angry or not!" Rex snaps. "If you two don't want to come with me, I understand. But don't even think I'm leaving without getting something out of him!" And with that, Rex dashes off back into the tunnels, eagerly to give a piece of his mind to the leader of the pack, Stone.

"Hey, wait!" Yu shouts as he dashes to the entrance of the tunnel and shouting into it toward Rex. "This is stupid! You're just going to make him very angry and have us kicked out of here and never come back!"

But Rex didn't listened; he just dashed down the tunnel in great speeds. He wants to find Stone and talk to him, to give him a piece of his mind and get the truth out of him, he has spent too many of Bright Circles in the Mysterious Beyond to let this chance slip away. Today has to be his day he finds some answers. Rex stumbles a bit as his foot hits a rock, making him lose his balance and fall forward as he catches himself on his humanoid paws, but the lad isn't going to let this stop him, he continues his run on all four, gracefully running down the tunnel like any feral creature. Rex never knew he could actually do this until a few months ago when he found himself crawling through a narrow little tunnel in a cave once, he found it so easy he tried to run on all four, and to his surprise he could do it rather easily a few trips and falls later.

"_You're going to tell me what I want to know, Stone." _Rex thought as he continued his way down the tunnel, dots of perspiration forming on his forehead. _"I'm not leaving without you telling me."_

Rex stops as a roar echoes through the tunnels, a loud and booming roar that sounds that it's coming from every direction, nigh impossible to detect its origin. Rex looks around the series of tunnels in this internal cave system, trying to pinpoint where the roar came from. Soon another roar is heard, and Rex manages to find the tunnel from where it came from and heads down through it without wasting any time. However, with the tunnels being a bit dark, his eyesight is a bit poor. And just when he turns a corner he bumps hard against an Alimon, Ken'ichi to be exact.

"Oof!" Ken'ichi grunts as Rex's body collides against him and topples him to the ground.

"Gah!" Rex is knocked back from the crash, rubbing his head from the collision "Ow…"

Ken'ichi rubs his muzzle and growls, ready to burst out to the one who bumped into him. "What the big…!" He stops midway as he sees the person who bumped into him. "Oh…Rex, it's just you. Where's the fire?"

Rex shakes his head and stands up, still rubbing his head. "Sorry about that…" He fixes his composure and looks at Ken'ichi. "Kind of in a hurry to find Stone; do you know where he is?"

The black Alimon smirks a bit. "Yeah, I know where he is. Haven't you heard the others' calling? Stone is calling all of us for a meeting."

"A meeting?" Rex inquires. "For what?"

"Something about the Rebellion and the recent killings in the valley" The black Alimon answers as he takes a seat, noticing Rex's face turning pale upon the news of killings in the Great Valley. Ken'ichi grins and shakes his head, "Don't worry, your friends are alright, I've checked into it." Upon seeing Rex sigh in relief, he decides to question him. "So why are you looking for Stone?"

Upon being asked such a question Rex suddenly glares a bit at Ken'ichi, figuring out a vital piece of the puzzle. "Your kind knows something about my kind, don't you?"

Ken'ichi's eyes slightly widen for just a few seconds before he closes his eyes and puts on a slight smile. "So…You figured it out, huh?" He opens his eyes and looks at Rex. "Yeah, it's true. We know about your kind."

Rex steps forward. "Then what's going on!? Why won't anyone tell me!? What's the big deal!?"

"It's not that it's a big deal, it's just a law we have to abide."

Rex snarls. "Enough with the laws! I have the right to know about this!"

Ken'ichi nods. "I know you do."

"Then why don't you tell me!!" The winged dinosaur shouted at the top of his lungs. If that didn't startle any Alimons who heard it, then they must have nerves of steel. Ken'ichi kept his eyes trained on Rex as he breathes in and out heavily as the rage subsides. For a complete minute silence befell onto them, neither of them would speak as they stare each other down, Rex waiting for a response from Ken'ichi.

Ken'ichi finally made a move. He stands up and turns around, his back now facing Rex. "…Take it up with Stone…" With just that he begins to leave.

Rex growls at the answer. "What!? That's it!?"

Ken'ichi stops, looking over his shoulder to the enraged Rex. "Of course not, who do you think is gonna lead you to him? You'll easily get lost around here. "

Rex narrowed his eyes. Finally he's getting somewhere! With a nod he begins to follow Ken'ichi through the long tunnels of this internal cave system, at times hearing roars from other Alimons as they seem to be getting close to where they hold their meetings and debates. Alimons are a pretty united species, all of their packs act as one cooperating with one another and taking care of each other, they're pretty intelligent as well to find and make this internal cave system their home. It's a truly impressive feat.

"So…" Rex opens his snout to start a conversation. "How long has your pack been protecting the valley?"

"For as long as I can remember…" Ken'ichi replies. "If I recall correctly the pack has already been protecting the valley even before I was born."

Rex places his humanoid paws behind his head as he continues to follow Ken'ichi. "So you've pretty much been living in these tunnels all your life?"

"Yup, alongside Tanner, Kacie and Chelsey; we've been close friends ever since our cub hood days."

Rex tilts his head up to the cave's ceiling as the memory comes back to him. Kacie, one of the three Nurses who treated his wounds and basically corrected Ken'ichi about his status in the pack as Commander-In-Training. Rex couldn't help but give a slight giggle as he recalls Chelsey's remark about the two of them having a slight love interest despite the fact the two of them denied of such a thing. Rex gives a slight smirk; he just had an idea on how to get rid of some of his stress.

"So…About that Alimon, Kacie right?"

Ken'ichi stops his advancement; apparently he froze at the mention of the name. "Wha-What about her?"

"_Got you." _Rex thought with a grin. "Well you've been friends with her since you were little, what's she like?"

"Well uhhh…" Ken'ichi rubs his head, recalling back to his cub hood and adolescent years. "She's a bit random so to speak, but she's quite a nice Alimon. She's sweet, fun to be around; she wass the comic relief of the group so to speak."

"And Tanner and Chelsey?"

Ken'ichi continues his way to the meeting chamber while continuing his conversation with Rex. "Tanner, ah, now there's a good heart. He's quite sincere and a great friend, always there for you. He was practically the big brother figure of the group."

Rex nods. "Uh-huh, go on."

"As for Chelsey…Well, she's quite intelligent, that's why she got such a high rank in being a Nurse. She's sweet and knows the right words to say when you're down. She was kind of the big sister figure of the group."

Ken'ichi's own gang of friends reminds Rex of his own gang of friends back in the Great Valley. He wonders what Littlefoot and the others are doing right now, are they alright, what's going down at the valley now? Rex leans his head a bit forward, "So…Are you sure my friends are safe?"

"You can ask me that all day and the answer will be the same, yes they are safe and yes I'm sure who these friends you're referring to are."

Rex gives off a sigh of relief. "Alright, just making sure…" He scratches the back of his neck and continues his questionnaire. "So about Kacie…" He grins a bit before continuing, "About Chelsey saying you and have feelings for her, is it true?"

Ken'ichi stops and swirls around, glaring a mean one toward Rex's direction. "Of course not, we're just friends!"

Rex chuckles as he holds out his humanoid paws defensively, slightly backing away from the Alimon. "I'm just asking, no need to get angry at me."

Ken'ichi presses his lips sealed, a glare still at Rex's direction. Ken'ichi has never admitted it to anyone, but deep inside he does feel something toward Kacie, it started since his adolescent years and has grown over the years. He's not sure if Kacie feels the same way toward him, though Chelsey keeps pointing out that she does feel something toward him, all he needs to do is confess and everything would be set in motion. Ken'ichi just has to build up the courage to say so. "Anyway…" Ken'ichi turns and continues his way down the tunnel. "We're almost there, just keep going."

Rex shrugs and continues following the Alimon down the cave tunnel, lightly kicking at pebbles and little rocks along the way and hearing their echoes throughout the series of tunnels. While Rex may like going around these tunnels he just can't imagine what dinosaurs, other than the Alimons, would want to live all their lives throughout these caverns. Great protection from Sharpteeth, but it seems too…Extreme.

Rex and Ken'ichi turned a corner and end up in a tunnel with an opening at the end, spotting some Alimons walking through the opening. Rex knows they're there.

"We're here."

Rex nods. "Finally."

The two Sharpteeth walk to the entrance and stop just as they enter. The chamber they're now in is as huge as Rex remembered it a while ago, Alimons of different kinds of shapes and sizes are gathered in the room, eagerly awaiting the meeting to begin. Rex swings his head this way and that trying to locate the leader, Stone, but fails to find the Alimon.

"Calm down, kid." Ken'ichi comments as he takes notice of Rex's determination to track the leader down. "He'll be here, just relax, take a spot and wait for the meeting to be over so you can speak with him, it won't take long."

Rex eyed him as Ken'ichi made his way into the chamber, to sit and wait for a meeting that may take a long time to finish, he doesn't feel he has the patience to wait that long. The feeling that you may have what you're looking for at the reach of your paws, it's overwhelming to even bother trying to wait. Rex sighs; what the heck, he waited this long to find dinosaurs who may know the answer to his questions, what's waiting a little while more going to hurt?

Rex walked into the chamber and stood by the entrance, resting his back against the wall and keeping his eyes on the elevated part of the chamber, he guesses that's where the leader makes his stand and announcements. From there everyone can see him and vice versa.

"Rex!" Rex perks and looks to his right to see Yu and Chomper practically collapsed on the ground breathing in and out heavily and rapidly in exhaustion, their eyes narrowly closed as they recover from what it seems a long and quick run down the tunnels of the cave system.

"Chomper? Yu?" Rex gets his back off the wall and kneels down to their side. "How did you find your way here?"

Chomper slowly got back to his feet and looks at Rex a bit peeved. "Thanks a lot for ditching us! After you ran off we tried to find you and ran all around this place looking for you! Luckily for us we could make out from where the roars came from and got here!"

Rex scratches the back of his head, how can these two could do that? He poked his forehead with one of his claws; duh, these two are hunters and know a lot more about this than him, of course they can.

Yu, finally catching his breath, slowly gets back up on his feet. "So did you find him?"

"Well…" But before Rex could respond a loud roar pierced the chamber's air. The trio turned their heads toward the end of the chamber to see a familiar black and blue Alimon, Donovan.

He throws another roar. "Silence!" The whole chamber went quiet from their chats and bickering, all eyes set on Donovan. The black and blue Alimon slowly steps aside as from behind him a couple of Alimons approach up the platform and showing themselves to the whole chamber. Rex felt his heart skip a beat as he finally sees him, the Alimon he's so eager to talk to. "Stone…" He whispered.

"Aren't you gonna go talk with him?" Yu inquired.

Rex took his time about that answer. Yes, he does want to go up to him, cup his head in-between his paws, shake him and demand to know why he cannot be told about his species. In the end he shook his head, this meeting is probably important and he believes he should wait. "I'll…Just wait until this is done." Chomper and Yu look at each other; they were expecting a different answer from what he just said.

"Fellow Alimons of the pack," Stone began his speech. "We all know and understand the hardships we are all going through for some time now. Our rival pack, the Darkarians, is still after their ideal and forcing us to submit to their ways." He takes a few steps forward to almost at the edge of the platform, looking over his pack. "The Darkarians, once part of the Stone Rangers until the traitor rebelled against us and began this unnecessary rebellion."

The mention of this ignited the audience in conversations and comments about it. Some asked who the traitor is; others wonder if the traitor is still alive. Rex, Chomper and Yu look at each other at a loss, themselves wondering too about this traitor. Rex soon thought about that female Alimon that he faced with before meeting the Stone Rangers, the one who wounded him so. The way the other Alimons showed respect toward her, could she be the one who betrayed them and started the rebellion?

"Fire…" Donovan spoke out softly, his head low and his eyes on fire, enraged as the memories come back to him.

"As we review what we know," Stone continues. "The Darkarians began with the rebellion of the Alimon who was banished from the pack hundreds of Bright Circles ago. I trust you all recall the Alimon, Fire."

The chamber soon erupted as the Alimons present began talking to each other about this Alimon. Some of them commenting about him, others asking who Fire is, others inquiring if the Alimon is still alive. Rex look around at how some Alimons reacted in fear, was this Fire really that bad? What did he do? He shot a glance at Chomper and Yu, wondering if they ever heard of such a name. However, he was answered with a simple of shake of their heads.

"Silence!" Donovan snaps at everyone, petrifying everyone in place and their eyes on Donovan, even Stone turned his head at Donovan, a bit surprised at the sudden burst of anger into that word. Donovan takes a deep breath and steps back a couple of steps, leaving the front part of the platform to Stone. "Continue…"

Stone gives a slight nod at him and turns his head to the pack. "Now, for some time now the Darkarians have been bypassing the valley walls and doing illegal hunting in the valley, thanks to the very watchful eyes of our warriors and spies." Some Alimons gasp while others just simply nod their heads. "However…" This statement just bought everyone's curiosity. "While the huntings are continuing, reports have told us the number of these huntings has been diminishing over time."

Rex got his back off the chamber's wall upon hearing the news. He gave off a sigh of relief as he clutched his chest with one of his humanoid paws, it sounds like his friends in the valley will be alright after all. He looks around as some Alimons seem like they're calm about the news as well, the Darkarians must've caught the hint the Stone Rangers won't ever change and just gave up.

"However," Stone adds. "I'd be lying if I'd say this didn't worry me."

"Huh!?" Rex spat out along with Yu as the pack also burst into comments and throwing questions this way and that about such a statement. What's Stone talking about? How can the reports of the huntings slowing down worry him? Is there something they're all missing here?

"But…How can that worry him?" Yu asks no one in particular. "I mean, from what it sounds like the Darkarians are giving up. The Leaf Eaters in the valley are safe, aren't they?"

"For now." Chomper replies.

"Eh?" Rex turns to Chomper. "What are you implying?"

Chomper keeps his eyes on Stone, taking note and mental pictures of his expression and remembering his face when he expressed his opinion about the report. "Think about it. Stone is the leader of the pack, right? He out of anybody would know a lot more about the Darkarians than anyone else; after all he receives the reports from the other Alimons." He takes a deep breath and continues. "He's probably aware of how the Darkarians works and most of their tricks, he knows they're up to something…"

Rex and Yu nod; that sounds about right from a leader of a whole Alimon pack, makes sense he would know if their rival pack are up to something if they've faced them for a long time now.

"What do you ponder they're up to now?" A young adolescent Alimon inquires.

"Shouldn't we be sending out our best warriors to stop them once and for all?" An elder Alimon speaks out.

"What are we going to do if they come back?" Another Alimon speaks.

"Alimons! Settle down!" Stone orders as he paws the air with his red clawed paw. "I'm aware of all your concerns, believe me. We have been carefully training our warriors and strategizing to deal with them once and for all. Unfortunately…" Stone sighs as he pauses; he gently scratches his forehead and reopens his eyes with a firm look. "We have yet to determine to where they are holding up."

The Alimons in the chamber began bickering and chatting with each other from the news, concerned and worried once again. Rex, Chomper and Yu look at each other, so much for putting the stop on the rebellion. Where are they holding up anyway? From what they can recall, there's not much in the Mysterious Beyond to hide in, but if they can just come and go in the Great Valley to hunt then they shouldn't be too far. They wonder where…

"Hey," Yu whispers to Rex and Chomper. "You know, my pack has been thinking about staying around these parts for a while. Maybe we could offer our help to Stone by having us trying to find them."

"Yeah!" Rex nods with a slight grin. "The pack is here to scavenge and hunt, why not also look into this to give them a hand."

Chomper, however, gives a protest to the idea. "I don't know…I mean we barely came out alive from our last battle with that black Alimon and his gang. What makes you think we can win this time?"

Yu nods a bit. "True, but remember we will be with my pack. And with both me and Rex in the Frontier Lines we can take charge, we've already seen how those Alimons fought to make up a plan with the rest of the Frontier Lines."

"No way, you two made it to the Frontier Lines?!" Chomper exclaims in surprise. "Since when?!"

"Today actually." Rex responds with a slight giggle.

"We are currently looking into the situation," Stone added in, forcing everyone to shut up and turn heads to the leader. "I assure you, we will not rest until we have found the Darkarians and put them in their place once and for all."

"And I will assure you all of that!" Donovan growled after taking a couple of steps forward alongside Stone. "As Commander of our proud warriors, I will hunt them down and take the hurt to them! I won't allow them to kick dirt on our ancestors any longer!"

Most male Alimons in the room gave their nods and shouts of agreements. The Darkarians are all fools; they bring shame to us Alimons sworn to honor and follow our ancestry; that is Donovan's opinion.

"So what do you believe they're going to do?" An Alimon inquires.

Stone shakes his head in response. "About that I am not sure. The Darkarians are quite unsuspecting; we might never know when they might try to attack us. However, I have received reports about Alimon sightings in our allies' territory." The Alimons gasp, and then followed by a firm nod from Stone. "I'm afraid so-" Stone suddenly stops as his eyes catches Rex way in the back, listening to what he has been saying. Rex blinks as the leader of the pack stopped just as his eyes locked onto him. He wonders why did he stopped; was it because of the allies he mentioned?

Stone cleared his throat and shifts away from the topic. "But I won't dwell into that matter for now; I trust you all know who and what I'm talking about."

"_That's it!"_ Rex thought angrily to himself. He growls and storms his way down the chamber toward Stone. "That's it!" He actually cries out as he makes his way toward Stone.

"Rex!" Chomper and Yu cry out at the same time, starting their dash after their winged friend down the chamber.

Stone sighs as the trio runs up to him with an angry winged Sharptooth in the lead, he was afraid of this happening. Rex veered this way and that making his way to the front up to Stone, his teeth gritting in frustration and anger. The whole chamber was dead silent as this kid spoke out to the leader of the pack and interrupting his meeting, Alimons are not really the type to speak out against their chief if what he's doing is out of his best interest at heart for the whole pack. Ken'ichi, who is positioned in front and near the platform, winces at Rex's outburst, this won't end well.

After Rex makes it to the front he slams his humanoid paws on the platform Stone is standing, his eyes glaring into Stone's. "What's going on around here?!" He exclaims loudly. "What's the deal?! What are you hiding from me?!"

This outburst and lack of respect to the leader, who has always taken the pack's best interest at heart, triggers a commotion with the whole pack. Everyone questions and inquires on the situation at hand as Rex continues glaring at Stone who in return just looks into his eyes. Chomper and Yu gulps as they look at each other, worrying what's going to happen next after this. They're worried about what Rex will do to him now, but on the other hand they're worried what the pack is going to do to them if this keeps up.

Stone finally takes his eyes off of Rex and looks at the pack, his eyes dangerously narrowing ever so slightly. "Alimons!" He calls onto his pack, although he seems to be losing control over the pack. "Alimons! Settle down! Settle down!"

Donovan snarls and jumps up onto his hind legs, letting out an ear-piercing shout. "KNOCK IT OFF!!"

The shout did it. The chamber went dead silent and all eyes on Stone. "Thank you, Donovan." He nods at his most trusted Alimon. He turns his head to the pack for his announcement. "This meeting will be postponed until further notice. Until then, all cubs and elders will not be allowed outside of the caves! The rests are not to exit without permission of the ten top ranking Alimons of the pack! Understood?" He scans thorough the chamber, confirming the pack's agreement before continuing. "Good, dismissed!"

The pack began to disperse, some in groups while others exit alone. Stone looks down to only come face to face with Rex's dark blue eyes, glaring at him with some of his sharp teeth bared, the child is obviously furious at him. Sitting down, Stone puts on a smile. "Rex, what can I do for you?"

Rex's eyes slightly widen, is this guy serious? Does he actually doesn't know why he approached him? Or is he hiding it? Regardless his reason Rex's anger doubles. He slams his humanoid paws onto the platform and growls. "You know very well why I'm here!"

Stone chuckles. "I don't think I do."

Rex suddenly jumps on top of the platform and stands on all four, his eyes leveled with Stone's. "Don't give me any of that!" He snarls. "Your pack is keeping something from me! Something that has to do with my species isn't it!" Stone remains unfazed by the Sharptooth's anger, it doesn't seem like he's about to tell him anytime soon. Rex continues to growl, "If it's about my species, then I have the right to know! Do you even know how long I've searched for even a clue about my kind?!" Rex's eyes dangerously narrowed, his growl getting louder. "Tell me! Why are you hiding something from me?!"

The lack of respect got to him. Donovan jumps in between Stone and Rex, his eyes glaring daggers as he presses his snout against Rex's. "You best thread lightly around here, kid…" He warns. "You may not be part of this pack, but you will show him some respect!!"

Rex's glare slowly dwindled down, his growling stopping and his expression slowly dropping. Being face to face with Donovan just sends fear down his spine, he doesn't want to mess with him, and all he wants is answers to his questions. Rex gulps and stands down, backing up to where Chomper and Yu stand, his wings tightly against his back and his muzzle slightly down.

Stone slightly shakes his head and gets up. "At ease, Donovan." He orders as he places a paw on Donovan's shoulder. His most trusted Alimon nods and backs off, leaving Stone to approach the winged Sharptooth. "I apologize for leaving you in the dark about the matter, Rex. But I'm afraid it is not even my place to say…"

Rex arches an eyebrow, is he kidding? He's the leader of this pack, how can it not be his place to say? Rex's patience ends. He approaches the leader with another glare and growl. "Rules this, rules that! I'm getting tired of them!" This comment made Stone flinched, but Rex continued. "I'm at a point where I don't even care about them! All I want is the truth! I've been through too much to allow some stupid rules to stop me!"

"Stupid?!" Stone snaps, causing the three youth to back off with a jump. "How dare you call our sacred rules stupid?! The sacred rules set down by our great ancestor and first Alimon, Shakti! The sacred rules we have lived by for so long!" Stone was now glaring daggers, enraged by what Rex said. The trio slowly backed off from the enraged Alimon, ready to run for their lives in case he makes any sudden moves.

"Now Stone, calm down." His mate, Tree-Star, walks up next to him and gives him a gentle nuzzle, calming the leader of the Stone Rangers down. "I'm sure Rex meant no harm about his comment. He's just emotional about his ordeals lately, that's all."

Stone drops his glare and nuzzles his mate, his sudden anger over Rex's comment diminishing and his good nature returning. He turns his head toward Rex with a soft smile, a smile which nearly creeped the trio out at seeing it so suddenly after such an anger. "Ah, I apologize for losing my temper, boys." He has a hearty chuckle which creeped the trio out even more. "Now, about your dilemma…Rex, I understand how desperate you must be about this. Understandable, since you have grown and lived in the Great Valley since you hatched with no one of your own species to socialize with. However…"

The sudden pause built tension and anticipation in the trio of Sharptooth friends. Yu leans forward a bit at Stone. "However…?"

"However," Stone continues, "as much as I would like to tell you, I cannot. You see, we are a very united pack and we respect our allies. There are outer laws at work here about us keeping this certain information from you, and we will not break our allies' laws despite our difference in species." Rex's eyes express deep sadness about this, once again shot down from nearing to his long sought after answers. Stone feels for Rex, but as the respectable Alimon that he is he will not break any rules from his pack or allies. "I'm sorry." Stone apologizes as he turns around and begins to leave. But not even taking three steps forward he pauses as if hesitating to leave. "…However, there might be a way you would find your answers." Rex quickly picks up his head. Did he just heard right? Stone finally looks over his shoulder to look at Rex. "Before the Bright Circle fully falls, I expect you to report back here. Am I making myself clear?"

Chomper and Yu look at Rex who in turn looks at them both. Finally, this is it. After a full year of hanging around in the Mysterious Beyond, fending off predators and competing Sharpteeth, they will finally get to learn the truth of Rex's most sought-after answers. Who is he? What is he? Where does his species live? The trio looks back at Stone and gives a firm nod. "Yes sir!" They reply in unison.

Stone smiles. "Alright, that's all." He motions his mate to come along and looks at Donovan. "Donovan."

"Sir?"

"I understand how Rex might be feeling with being very close to his home, but under any circumstances you will not allow him entry into the valley."

Donovan arches an eyebrow at the order. "Not to speak out against you, but why such a decision, especially to him?"

Stone simply replied: "Safety."

* * *

The rest of the day in the Great Valley has been an extremely tense one. Many of the residents of the valley has been doing nothing but staying together and keeping an eye out for each other, barely any dinosaurs gracing and eating alone. Already a number of areas in the valley have been prohibited to the children to enter such as the deep forest areas of the valley and anywhere near the mountain walls. The children do not have a say in these restriction, meaning one time for them all: Extreme boredom!

Littlefoot could only sigh as he takes a drink of water from the watering hole near his nest; it was all he could do since for now he cannot get together with his friends due to the Sharpteeth problem. The Longneck isn't bummed out about not being allowed to leave the nest until Mr. Threehorn says so; he is worried about the Sharpteeth problem. What if they hunt when they're asleep at night? What if his friends are next? What if his grandparents are next? What if _he's_ next?

Littlefoot gulps from the thought, feeling the cooling water go down his throat; he's not looking forward to waking up one morning and seeing his friends slaughtered in their sleep. He looks over his shoulder, still seeing his grandparents eating some leaves within his sights, and he's thankful for them being there to protect him when he needs them. However he feels the family is incomplete. Next to his mother there's one more family member missing, the one he has taken care of since the day he hatched, the one he has thought of as the brother he never had.

"Rex…" Littlefoot says with a sigh as he lifts his head up to the blue sky. "Where are you…?" The memories of that easy-going dinosaur came back to him and for a moment he felt once again like crying, he misses him dearly. He wonders what he is doing at this very moment, if he's alright, if he found what he is looking for. Just as he thought that his train of thought froze, his eyes widening a bit. What he is looking for, he thought again followed by a horrible thought…If Rex did found out about his kind…Wouldn't he decide to stay with them? Would he actually turn his back on his promise to stay with his own kind? The thought horrified him…

Littlefoot shakes his head. "No, of course not…" Littlefoot speaks to no one in particular. "I know Rex better than that; he won't do such a thing."

Not soon after the bushes behind him began to rustle, nearly scaring Littlefoot out of his skin as he gave out a surprised scream and turns around, facing the bush as he backed away. The rustling continues from time to time, increasing the tension in Littlefoot. "Who's…Who's there?" He asked with a shakily voice, scared out of his mind with the thought that maybe the Sharptooth came for him. While the stalker in the bush made no move to show itself, Littlefoot could see something through the leaves and shadows of the bushes. He could spot a creature with white skin moving about behind the bush, his head a bit visible but still hard to see. To Littlefoot it seems like another Longneck.

"Hey." Littlefoot calls out to the creature in the bush. The creature merely looked at him, and knowing he's been spotted he dashes off. "Hey! Wait!" Littlefoot cries out to the creature and runs after him. "Come back! It's not safe!"

The creature however doesn't stop. It continues to run away from its chaser as it darts through bushes and jumping over rocks and fallen logs in attempt to get away from him. Littlefoot tries his best to keep up. While he still may be a child he can give a good run if he sets his mind to it. He follows the creature through bushes and jumping over fallen logs he can jump over while crawling under the logs he cannot jump over.

The two of them soon get deeper into the forest of the valley, vines hanging down from the top of the trees and the majestic trees looming closer to each other nearly blocking the glow of the Bright Circle in the sky. As the creature keeps running almost out of view Littlefoot struggles to keep up, vines here and there trying to make his chase difficult by getting in his face and some of them tying around his limbs and neck as he runs through them but only to be broken down by the Longneck's strength and determination to keep up.

"Stop!" Littlefoot pleads to the runaway creature. "I won't hurt you! Come back! It's not safe!"

But his warnings fell on deaf ears; the creature merely looked back at the chasing Longneck and continued its run. Littlefoot just continued following it, he's not willing to let what seems to be a young Longneck to get killed by the Sharpteeth killers somewhere in the valley. He continued to follow him until a stray vine hanging from the tree tops smacks him head-on in the face, forcing a yelp from the Longneck's snout and closing his eyes as he shakes his head from the pain, and as consequence from getting his eyes off of the road he stumbles down to the ground and falls down a hill he was blindly running into. He rolled down and bumping onto rocks and pebbles along his way down, finally hitting ground below a damp part of the forest below, plopping on a puddle of mud. Groaning from the fall he slowly gets back up on his feet as he wipes some mud from his face and spitting out whatever mud got in his mouth.

He spits out some mud again with a slight frown of the taste. "Patooie…Yuck…" He slowly walks out of the puddle and shakes his body a bit, getting rid of some of the mud. "Ugh…Some fall…" He mutters as he looks back at the hill he fell down from. After wiping some mud off his face again he looks around, wondering where he is. He has never been this deep in the forest before. The place looks creepy and silent, lonely and dark. How is he going to find that Longneck now? In fact, how is he going to find his way back home now?

Littlefoot gulps, his heart racing and a chill going up his spine at a sudden sound, a rustle and footsteps somewhere. Looking around, he picks a good spot to run from this spot and takes it, breaking off in a run. He breathes heavily as he trots his way toward somewhere he doesn't know but hoping it would take him somewhere familiar from where he can find his way back home, debating whether or not to continue looking around for that Longneck or just go home and get his grandparents to help look for him. Either way, he's thinking he'll be lucky to go back home at all.

Littlefoot makes it to a clearing in the forest where the Bright Circle shines through, a nice clearing to take a breather in and figure out which direction to go to. Littlefoot gives off a sigh of relief and exhaustion as he makes his way to the center of the clearing, thinking he found a moment of peace to relax. But his hope shatters as he catches something through the corner of his eye. Quickly turning around he spots the white creature he was chasing! Littlefoot feels relief to see the fellow Longneck safe, but the creature begs to differ and runs away from him back into the forest. "No! Come back! Don't run!" Right then and there Littlefoot forgot all about his exhaustion and resumes the chase after the creature right back into the forest, concerned about its safety this deep in the forest.

"Please stop!" Littlefoot pleads as he follows the creature, but to his misfortune the creature just won't stop. The creature runs to another clearing where it jumps onto a tree stump and swiftly turning around to face the Longneck, its eyes turned into a glare at the chasing Longneck. At that cue Littlefoot stopped cold in his tracks, nearly falling over from his sudden stop. Now seeing the creature in clear sunlight, it doesn't look like any Longneck he has ever seen.

The creature he has been following does look like a Longneck alright, but there are noticeable differences. One of them is the feathers from the back of its head down the back of its neck; some are white while others are light-blue. He can see from the front of its muzzle down its neck, chest, belly and even the underside of its tail is light-blue along with some stripes from the back of its neck down to the tail. The most intriguing feature is the color of its light-blue claws, a scar in shape of an X on its left shoulder and of course its eyes, its right eye's blue while the other's green. The creature smirks, surprisingly discovering it has sharp teeth! "Heh, I gotta hand it to you, you run fast to keep up with me!" His voice gives its gender away: male.

"You're…You're not a Longneck…" Littlefoot started to tremble, unable to believe his eyes as he witnesses such a creature. A creature he has never seen before and a Sharptooth at that! "You're…" Littlefoot adds. "You're the Sharptooth that…That…"

"I take you saw the Spiketail." The creature grins. "He was tasty, put up a good fight before I stopped toying with him." As he sees Littlefoot backing away in an attempt to get away the creature couldn't help but chuckle at his futile effort. True that the Longneck managed to barely keep up with him it's a whole different story when _he's_ the one chasing. "And I was in the mood for Longneck before you spotted me…" This comment made Littlefoot's blood run cold, his heart nearly stopping before beginning its pounding against his chest.

"However, I was looking for a bigger one but you'll do!" The creature grins at the Longneck and jumps, his claws flexed and ready to shred the Longneck apart. Littlefoot screams and scrambles away from his glued spot, just barely dodging the creature's lunge. The creature skids along the ground on all four as he turns toward the direction Littlefoot ran off and, with a hunting roar, commences the chase after him. Littlefoot breathes heavily in and out as he runs for his life, his heart pounding against his chest and his paws aching from the last run, but he dares not to slow down or stop. He tries his best to stay away as he runs past trees and rocks, darting this way and that trying to lose the creature chasing him for his blood.

However, to his misfortune, this creature is a master of hunting and is easily keeping the pace with the Longneck, he can outrun him and take him down whenever he wished but he lives on the thrill of the hunt as his menacing grin shows, he wants to let this chase last for his enjoyment. He wants to see how much longer this Longneck can go before exhaustion takes him down.

Littlefoot just kept running. He doesn't know what he can do other than run for his life. His voice has been lost from the desperation and fear that has engulfed him, his whole memory and thoughts completely wiped out from the chase. All he can think of is getting away from the Sharptooth and into a safe place, he prays for a grown up to show up and save him from a horrible fate he has grown used to avoid from all his past adventures, he hopes he'll make it out of this alive to see his friends and his grandparents again.

He sees a clearing up ahead and for a second he thought he was safe, that a grown up would see him running out of the forest with a Sharptooth following him and would save him. But as he exits through the opening and into a clearing despair settles onto him like a parent watching his eggs being eaten by an Egg-Stealer. He has gotten to nowhere but a clearing in the forest where the valley ends. In other words, he reached a dead end with the valley's protective wall trapping him. His running came to a stop and his head turned this way and that, trying to find a way out. None is found.

"No…" Littlefoot whispers. His hearing catches the trotting sound of a running dinosaur and he turns around to come face to face with the Sharptooth that has been chasing him, not a sign of exhaustion in the Sharptooth's face; just a simple, cocky smirk.

"Well well," The Sharptooth smirks. "End of the line, kid."

Littlefoot trembles like a scared hatchling as he backs away from the approaching Sharptooth, feeling his tail touching the valley wall as he slowly backs into it. He soon finds himself pressed against the wall with nowhere to run, cornered like a field mouse. He suddenly recalls how he was cornered almost in the same way a long time ago when he and his friends made it to the Mysterious Island, when they were being chased by a Sharptooth and cornered against a cliff wall only to discover it was their friend, Chomper. Littlefoot closed his eyes as his whole body trembles, ready to take the blow, unable to believe this is how his life would end.

"Lights out!" The Sharptooth cockily declares as he jumps for the kill. Littlefoot's eyelids squinted harder against each other as he realizes this is it, his whole life practically flashing before his closed eyes, the day he hatched, the day he made it to the valley with his friends, the day he hatched Chomper, the day he met Ali, the day he met Doc, Mo and his father, everything. He felt deaf; the whole world has gotten mute on him in this time of dread. Now, soon he will feel the Sharptooth's razor sharp teeth ripping him apart…

…Soon…

…Soon?

Littlefoot stopped trembling at the realization that he is unharmed, not even the slightest pounce or touch. As his hearing comes back to him he picks up the sounds of snarls and growls, sounds that he does not find very welcoming at all. He slowly opens his eyes to see not one but _two_ of these Sharpteeth. The new one that has shown up is of red skin with yellow from the top of his head down the back of his neck to his tail with light-blue skin from the snout down to his chest, belly and underside of his tail. His claws are of green color while his feathers are all yellow. Littlefoot is flabbergasted about the new creature; there are more than one?

The red Sharptooth is growling at the white one who is lying on the ground with a slight slash wound to his cheek. At the last minute before the white Sharptooth would jump at the Longneck the red Sharptooth jumped in and tackled the white one right out of the sky and onto the ground while in the process giving the white Sharptooth a slight cut. But the question is, is he saving the child or just fighting the other one over who gets to eat him?

"Oh great, the protectors are here…" The white one comments with a snarl as he gets up, slightly rubbing his wounded cheek. Littlefoot could only arch an eyebrow at the comment. Protectors? What?

The red one doesn't seem to be happy at all with this guy. He simply stands in front of Littlefoot to protect him and just says two words. "Get out."

"Oh ho ho! Commanding, are we?" The white one kids around, but the red one just narrows his eyes a bit more, he's not kidding. "Alright alright, I'm going." The red one continues before giving off a slight smirk at the Longneck. "You've lucked out this time, kid." He adds and with that he simply turns tail and heads off, jumping up from boulder to boulder up the mountain wall and disappearing into a cave.

Littlefoot watched as his attacker disappeared from his sights. Sighing in relief he turns his head to his savior. "Th-Thank-" To his surprise he found himself talking to no one, the Sharptooth that just saved him simply vanished. Gone, just like that without even a sound. Littlefoot was dumbfounded, how can that Sharptooth leave so swiftly without even him noticing? Just how good are they?

"…Protectors?" Littlefoot inquires at no one in particular as he recalls the white Sharptooth's words. Protectors? What did he meant by that? And just what kind of Sharpteeth where they?

* * *

Outside of the Great Valley, just in front of the cave Rex, Chomper and Yu went into to go after a Sickleclaw from the Sodom pack, The Toviel pack can be found taking a breather and relaxing right under the trees of the area. While it has been hours since their last battle with the Sodom pack there are few hurt and wounded and depend on this downtime to relax and recover. Chomper is out around the desert region close by with his parents hunting for food. Hey, big Sharpteeth need to eat.

While Chomper is busy hunting, Yu is busy with some things of his own. It appears his father isn't very happy with the trio being away for so long in the cave when all they were assigned to do was to chase down and bring back that Sickleclaw either dead or alive, and his father isn't so easy to talk to about these kind of things. His anger sometimes is so great it could make any Sharptooth run away in fear. It took some time, but Yu managed to explain everything to him and calm him down, letting them off the hook on account of being ambushed and wounded.

"Phew…" Yu sighs in relief as he just finishes speaking with his father and walking away from the pack a bit. "Well that went well…Those two owe me for this…" He stops his walk as he spots Rex up ahead standing next to a tree facing the rest of the forest and meadow over the horizon, his right humanoid paw on the tree next to him. Yu recalls the trouble Rex went through to try to get any information out of the Alimons about his species but only to return empty-handed as they all kept their muzzles shut about it. While they are giving him a chance to figure out the answers by himself when the Bright Circle starts to go down, it can be quite nerve-wracking waiting for the Bright Circle to start descending from the sky.

"Rex?" Yu approaches his winged friend. The kid didn't answered though, he just stands there as the breeze in the area picks up a bit, the feathers from his head down the back of his neck swaying a bit in the wind and the short feather from right above his forehead draped down over his muzzle lightly tickling his nose.

Yu looks around a bit as he approaches alongside Rex, trying to make conversation. "Umm…It's a pretty nice view, huh?"

It took a bit for Rex to answer. "Yeah…Kind of places I always love to be in…"

"My kind of places too." Yu acknowledges. "Just look at it, wide and spacious for us to have our usual races and stuff. Who wouldn't want to be in them?" Worst conversation attempt ever, Yu thought to himself. Anyone can tell he's grasping to keep a conversation between him and his friend to keep his mind occupied.

Rex started to chuckle. "Heheh, you're grasping."

Nothing gets by you, Yu thought with a slight giggle. "Yeah yeah, give me a break; I had a bit of a hard time with my dad a bit ago."

"Didn't liked how we took so long in there, huh?"

"Not a bit…" Yu slightly lowers his head as he recalls how his dad got angry with them but soon he shakes it off with a slight chuckle and lifting his head up with a grin. "He can be really scary."

"Got that right."

Yu frowns; Rex doesn't seem to be in his usual mood right at the moment, he must still be thinking of the Alimons and how Stone said he would find the answers himself by when the Bright Circle begins to descent. Apparently it's the only thing on his mind right now judging from the way he's looking at the horizon toward the clear, blue sky waiting for that circle to start going down. Who can blame him after being so long in the Mysterious Beyond searching for any clues about his species?

"How long…" Rex speaks. "How long has it been since we last had any leads about my kind?"

Yu slightly lowers his head at the question, thinking back at all they went through since the day they met. Those days weren't easy on them; the life of a Sharptooth is never easy in the Mysterious Beyond. With Leaf-Eaters doing their best to stay away from Sharpteeth it has been a constant struggle everyday which has tested both their patience, though nothing has been more frustrating than what Rex just asked him. To them it was nearly impossible to hear or find something out about Rex's kind; it's though his kind was nothing more than a forgotten species. And now that he thinks of it, Yu can't really recall the last time they had a clue or lead about Rex's species.

Rex gives off a heavy sigh as Yu's silence speaks volumes about his question. "You know, this is all starting to sound too good to be true…"

Yu lifts his head and looks at Rex. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, let's look at the facts. We've been together searching for such a long time we barely found anything about my species, let alone anyone who have seen one. Maybe…" The winged Sharptooth's eyes slowly lower to the ground as his head slowly bows down, letting his humanoid paw slide off the tree as his shoulders begin to sag. "Maybe my species doesn't exist at all…Maybe they're all gone and I'm the only one that's left and the Alimons doesn't wanna tell me the truth about it…"

Yu opens his mouth to protest at his friend's logic, but no words flow out. Besides, his theory does make some sort of sense. They've been through so much trouble and have barely come out with anything about his species. Other than Kumo, Rex and the Arich pack, they haven't spotted any more of their kind. What if Rex is right? What if they are the only ones left? It does sound logical. Why else would they have so much trouble in finding anything about them if they do exist? How hard would it be to find one of them in the Mysterious Beyond if they do exist?

"Don't think like that…" Yu manages to say, it was the only thing that he could think of saying at a time like this. "Maybe we're just not looking hard enough. There are plenty of mysterious places beyond the Mysterious Beyond. Remember the Big Water we saw a long time ago? I've traveled a lot before I met you and I've never seen anything like it! There are plenty of places we still haven't looked." He nudges Rex with his head and puts on a warm smile, trying to cheer him up. "We just got to put our minds into it and look in every nook and cranny we can find! Trust me, they're out there somewhere and we'll find them!"

Rex looks at Yu's smiling face, the confidence in his eyes and the determination in his face. He's right, beyond the Mysterious Beyond is a huge world where there are many places they don't know exists, places they have yet to discover and explore, and new creatures they have never seen or heard of before. His species could fit in that category, living deep somewhere beyond the Mysterious Beyond just waiting to be discovered by them. Rex finally sheds a smile and nods, his spirits lifted by Yu's words. "Yeah, you're right. I can't give up hope now…Thanks, Yu."

Yu smiles widely. "Heheh, you're welcome." A few seconds after a loud Sharptooth roar echoes through the forest sky, forcing both Rex and Yu to throw their heads up to the sky and listening to the echoing roar, deciphering its message. "Sounds like Chomper's back." Yu informs as he looks at Rex and motioning a direction with his head. "Let's go meet him."

With a nod from Rex they both turn around and head off to meet back with Chomper who has returned from his hunt with his parents. However Rex felt a feeling of being watched, causing him to stop in his tracks. He stands there for a moment before turning back to the view of the meadow, seeing nothing of interest in his sights. He looks up at the sky next, seeing a Flyer fly gracefully in the sky headed toward the Great Valley walls. Rex quickly dismissed the shadow as a Leaf-Eater headed to the valley, but he still felt that eerie feeling of being watched. Turning his head to the Great Valley's protective walls, which are about 200 feet away, his eyes catches the figure of a blue-green dinosaur with a similar anatomy as him.

Yu looks behind him to see his friend lagging behind, just standing there looking at a direction. "Rex?" He stops his run and walks back to him. "What's wrong?"

Rex kept his gaze to the figure. He looks familiar, he thought. Then it came to him. Kumo! As soon as the figure slowly turned its head and looks at him it all came together. Rex recognizes that firm look anywhere! "Kumo!" Rex happily exclaims.

"Who?" Yu inquires as he stops behind his friend.

"Kumo!" Rex repeats as he turns to Yu and points to where he saw him. "He's standing over there, by that cliff!"

Yu moves his gaze to look at where Rex is pointing at and frowns, blinking a bit at what he sees. "Ummm…Where? I don't see him."

"Huh?" Rex arches an eyebrow. What is he talking about? He's standing right there! Rex shakes his head and turns to where he saw him, only to see a lonely, empty cliff. "He's right…There?"

Yu tilts his head, confused and concerned. "Ummm…Are you sure you saw him?"

"Of course!" Rex turns to Yu. "He was standing over there!"

"Maybe you should lie down." Yu suggests with a concerned voice.

Rex looks back at the cliff while scratching his head between his feathers. He did spotted Kumo on that cliff, didn't he? He's not seeing things due to his high hopes about his species, is he? Rex slowly lowered his humanoid paw over his forehead and down to his muzzle, wincing a bit as his paw touches the healing wound on his snout. Maybe his wounds and the loss of blood earlier is finally getting to him, making him see things. "…Yeah…" He finally speaks as he slowly turns to leave. "Maybe I should…"

Though little do they know that Rex wasn't seeing things. The cliff from where Kumo was sighted is bigger and wider than it looks, stretching across the wall's edge nearly a mile long. On the other side of the cliff, out of sight from where Rex could see the cliff, a humanoid dinosaur stands with his arms crossed watching the view from the edge of the cliff, dark skin with red stripes from his back to his tail and red feathers from right above his forehead down to the back of his neck, his eyes ruby red. This dinosaur seems old and wise with a scar from his back to his chest. Wise and collected and mysterious in his ways; his name: Druce, the wisest member and leader of the Arich.

"Druce…" Another humanoid dinosaur approaches from behind him. Just like Druce, this one is black with red stripes from his back down to his tail and red feathers, difference being his eye color being brown, no scar and draped feather from right above his forehead is shorter and just drapes down between his eyes. He's the tallest and strongest member of the Arich, tough and easy to anger. His name: Braun.

Druce looks through the corner of his eyes to spot the strong one approaching him. "Braun…What do you have to report?"

"It is as you suspected," Braun responds. "They are being accomplices with the Darkarians…"

"And of their plans?"

"Just as you feared…"

Druce gives off a heavy sigh; he has been struck hard by this news. "Just what I was afraid of…Just like the Darkarians, they have sunk so low to destroy the Alimon Ancestors' laws and our own…This could shatter the peace and bond our ancestors have worked so hard to attain and maintain…" He slowly lowers his head to think, then adds: "Is Zarek aware of this?"

Braun shakes his head. "No, we don't think he is."

Druce brings his head up and slightly turns to face Braun. "And of Tamal, Pascal and Jaser?"

"They are still spying the traitors for more information." He reports while still standing firm and tall to his leader. "Do you wish to call off the objective for now?"

Druce remains quiet as he ponders; juggling the decision of whether or not to call off the job and return them home to safety. They could really use all the information they can get from the traitors to gain an upper hand over them, but on the other hand they really can't risk keeping the three of them over there where they could be spotted. They're taking a huge risk. Druce decides and completely turns to Braun, "Abort objective and return home, we have enough information as is."

Braun nods and leaves, descending down from the cliff via a trail. While Braun leaves Druce turns to his left, his eyes setting on a figure. "And what of you, Kumo? Have you already decided?"

A blue-green figure walks out from behind a corner, its green emerald eyes on a soft glare right at Druce as it approaches him. The blue-green humanoid dinosaur with dark blue skin from under its jaw down its chest, stomach and underside of its tail and dark blue feathers from its head down the back of its neck with a long feather right above its forehead draped down between its eyes and nearly touching the muzzle. Silent, collected and aggressive, this creature is known as Kumo.

"Decided?" Kumo echoes. "About taking up on your offer of joining your pack, eh? Oh am I special…" Kumo approaches Druce and looks at him square in the eye. "I have told you before; I'm not the kind to join a pack."

Druce however didn't seem fazed about Kumo's look. He just stands his ground as he returns Kumo's glare with a soft glare of his own. "Is that the reason you left Rex's side?" He replies after a minute of pause, though only to be replied with a growl from Kumo. "At ease, child…" Druce adds, "There is no need to bare your fangs at me."

Kumo halts his growls and backs up a tad. He slightly turns away from Druce as he crosses his arms. "Why have you chosen me to become a part of your pack?"

"Is there a need for an answer?" Druce says with a simple voice. "Young child, you accept Rex as a friend and show no hesitation to help him, yet you distant yourself from him and still show desire to help and protect him."

Kumo turns his head at Druce, his soft glare narrowing. "And you find this amusing why…?"

"I do not find this amusing; on the contrary I respect it. However…" Druce takes a few steps closer to Kumo, raising one humanoid paw and resting it on Kumo's shoulder. "You also show interest in our work and ways, especially on our current situation. I believe you wish to lend us a hand…" Kumo's head turns slightly more at Druce's direction, his attention caught by Druce's words. "And like us…" Druce continues, "You also wish to watch over and protect Rex and to make sure he follows along the correct path to discover his species on his own…Unless…" Kumo now slightly turns his whole body toward Druce, his crossed arms slowly unfolding and dropping down, his eyes widen just a tad as he finds himself surprised and shocked that Druce has probably somehow figured it out.

And with the way Kumo is looking at him, he knows he's right. "Unless you already know what Rex wants to know…And more…Perhaps that's why you distant yourself from him…To keep from him a horrible truth…"

For a couple of minutes complete silence has fallen between them both, Druce silent awaiting from a reply while Kumo remains silent from shock, unable to believe how wise this dinosaur is. Just how did he know? How did _they_ know? Anyone could clearly claim he's bluffing, but not this time. The spark of confidence in Druce's eyes, it just leaves no room for doubt.

"…Heh." Kumo smirks and slightly lowers his head as he closes his eyes, acknowledging the pack's ways. "Impressive…"

Druce could only chuckle. "Same goals, same species…" Removing his humanoid paw from Kumo's shoulder, Druce takes a step back to stand in front of him. So what of your answer, Kumo? Will you lend us your strength and aid us?"

Kumo eyed Druce as he once again thinks about the offer. To help them and of the current situation which could shatter the bond and peace between two species and doom the Great Valley. Not only that but also to aid Rex whenever they find him in need, to guide him to the correct path.

With everything decided in his mind, Kumo gives his answer…

* * *

For the rest of the day the trio of friends has had a smooth, lazy day. Some of the adult Sickleclaws of the Toviel pack has been taking turns hunting down food and taking care of the raplets. On a beautiful meadow like this anyone would love to have fun running and playing around.

Yu has taken time to spend with his cousins and raplet friends, just having fun under the Bright Circle and taking care of them while the adults are out hunting or just patrolling the turf from any danger.

While his parents are out hunting Chomper is relaxing under a large tree under a huge shade, talking to what it seems no one in particular. But upon closer inspection around the area, right above him, you can spot Rex lying down on a tree branch, relaxing in the cooling breeze. He laughs at one of Chomper's sayings, a joke of sorts or just talking about a funny situation he went through.

Chomper tries to suppress his laughter to continue, speaking between giggles. "And then after I chased them down they ran up a tree and started throwing their food at me!"

"Hahahahah!!" Rex laughed. "I guess they wanted to teach you a lesson about making food out of them!"

Chomper giggles at recalling such a humorous day. "Hehehehe! But I was hungry!"

Rex grins after a good laugh. "After hearing stories like I'm glad I can also eat green food! At least they don't run away from me or fight back!"

Chomper laughs at the smart comment, how right is he! The two of them grow quiet for a while as Rex relaxes and Chomper gazes around the area as if looking for somebody. He turns his attention up to the sky, and while it's still clear and blue it won't be long before that blue sky slowly turns into a crimson tint, that's when they were told by Stone to return to that huge cave chamber, apparently for something about Rex's species.

"So uhhh…" Chomper breaks the silence. "Almost time, huh?"

Rex tilts his head to look at the sky as it slowly loses its blue color and turning crimson. "Yeah…"

"Excited?" Chomper smiles up at his winged friend as he stands up. "I bet you are after so long! Just think that in just a matter of time as the Bright Circle starts to descend from the sky you'll finally get your answers!"

While Chomper's words do excite him to finally find his answers a part of him isn't so excited about it. It puzzles him though, he always wanted this and actually almost threatened Stone to get the information out of him and now that he's so close he's actually hesitant. That feeling everyone gets when they're so close to achieve something they've longed for only to feel hesitant or unsure at the last stretch of the road, usually just to pause and really think about it. What would happen once he knows? Will he ever be the same? Would it change anything?

"Yeah…" Rex finally manages to answer. "I can't wait…" He sits up on the tree branch and stretches out his arms with a slight yawn along with a good stretch of his wings. "Besides," He adds as he finishes his stretching and leaps down to the ground and landing right next to Chomper. "There's something I want to ask them about an Alimon that we saw after our fight with that black Alimon."

Chomper blinks. "Black Alimon?" He slightly lowers his head as he digs around his memories for such Alimon. Such description is not really specific since he knows of more than one black Alimon: Donovan and Zi-errr, Ken'ichi. Although the word "fight" gave him a clear idea of whom he refers. "Oh yeah, the first Alimon we saw and fought after finding that cave full of bones before three other Alimons showed up."

Rex nods. "Yeah, that one. Well, after you and Yu fell through a hole on the ground I got really hurt by all four of them and I remember, before I lost consciousness, of this one Alimon referring to someone…" He paused right there as he tries to make sense out of something. Chomper cocks his head as he's a little lost at what Rex means. Of course, he fell through a hole and got separated from him and wasn't there, why would he fully understand what Rex means.

Rex just shakes his head afterwards. "Nevermind, it's not really important."

Chomper awww's and playfully nudges his friend. "C'mon, tell me! You can't just stop when you bought my attention!"

Rex chuckles and holds Chomper back. "Cut it out! You will, just be patient."

Chomper laughs a bit and backs off. Already the Bright Circle is starting its descent down from the sky as the blue tint slowly turns crimson from the setting sun. The glare of sundown hits down on the two friends as they shield their eyes a bit from it, their heads turning to the setting sun's glare looking at the afternoon sky. In just a matter of a few more hours night will descend upon them and the Night Circle will soon dominate the night sky. A warm breeze blows upon Rex, soothing him from his beating heart as his feathers gently sway a bit in the wind. The time is almost upon him, and boy is he nervous about it.

"Well," Rex turns to Chomper with a slight smile. "Time to go."

The blue Sharptooth nods. "Yeah, it's almost time."

With a nod the two of them went off. They met up with Yu and soon went off back into the caverns after letting Yu's father, Judah, know about them returning to the Alimons. Inside the caves it was as dark and cool as they remembered, and though they had a hard time adjusting to the caves' darkness and routes at first they managed to get used to things inside of them and learn a bit of the routes while on their way back outside after Rex confronted Stone. As they learned before these caverns the Rock Rangers live in are quite spacious and long, tunnels stretching for what seems like forever for first timers, impressive for creatures to live in them and know where every entrance and exit leads.

It was still a mystery for the trio on how these tunnels came to be, but convenient. It holds quite good protection from predators and weather conditions. And located near the Great Valley as well, it's like a utopia in a utopia. But even a utopia has its dark secrets. The Darkarians, rebellions, and even keeping everything Rex wants to know about his species in top secret.

It took a while to find it but the gang found and makes their way down the tunnel that leads to the meeting chamber, where Stone told them to return to as the Bright Circle started to descend. "We're almost there." Chomper announces enthusiastically before turning into a run down the tunnel. "C'mon!"

Rex and Yu take their time walking down the tunnel though; they'll make it in time so there's no rush. However, Yu was pretty silent as they made their way through the caverns toward the meeting chamber. His mind was sort of plagued by different thoughts, questions, etc.

Yu stops walking. "So uhhh…I guess our time together is almost up."

Rex stops as well by the comment, his mind reeling back to his comment about their time together is almost up. He blinks and turns to Yu. "Huh?"

"I mean…" He rephrases as he shakes his head, realizing what he just said. "Well, we've been together all this time ever since you decided to stay and search for your species and…Well, it does seems like that search is nearly over, don't you think?"

Rex's eyes begin to wander around the tunnel as he scratches his head. "Well yeah, probably. I mean, there's no guarantee we might get the information we're looking for…"

"Well, if we do get the information we're looking for, what will you do afterwards? I mean, you did promised your friends you'd come back…" Yu pauses and slightly lowers his head, his eyes dropping to the ground as they narrow in sadness. "It…Would be the last time we'd see each other…"

Rex was at a loss for words. Now that Yu has mentioned it, he has never really thought about it. He does remember his promise to Littlefoot, and while he is intending on keeping such promise he has never thought about what Yu said. It holds some truth. They will go along their separate ways, and it would be nearly impossible to find someone beyond the Great Valley, out there in the Mysterious Beyond. Rex takes a step toward Yu and grabs his shoulders, causing the Sickleclaw to look at him. "Hey, don't talk like that. Even though we might go our separate ways there's no guarantee we won't see each other again." He smiles at his Sickleclaw friend and continues on his words of encouragement. "Just because I'm returning home doesn't mean we won't see each other again. Trust me; we'll see each other again someday. This won't be the end of our friendship."

"Well said, Rex." The two of them turn to the direction from where they came to see Stone approaching them, heading to the meeting chamber just like he said he would meet them at. "You're early."

Rex grins sheepishly at the comment as he scratches the back of his head. "Well you know what they say about arriving early."

Stone chuckles at Rex's comeback, typical response from a child. From behind the grey Alimon a green adolescent Alimon runs up to them with a smile, Emerald. The adolescent stops next to his father and happily greets. "Hey guys!"

"Emerald!" Yu smiles upon seeing the Alimon again.

"I hope you don't mind if he comes along." Stone says, he glances at his son and gives him a slight nudge. The adolescent giggles and paws at his father's nudgey muzzle. "Too nosey and impulsive for his own good."

"Heheh! Sure, we don't mind." Rex answers with a grin.

"Hahah! Cool!" Emerald cheerfully jumps with glee. He looks around and notices the Sharpteeth duo is missing one Sharptooth. "Say, where's the other Sharptooth that was with you guys before?"

"Oh, you mean Chomper?" Yu motions his head toward the meeting chamber. "He went up ahead."

"Oh!" Emerald smiles and looks at his father. "I'm gonna go ahead too! Don't take too long!"

Stone chuckles at his son's excitement as he watches him go, he can really relate to his own son during his own cubhood days. "Children these days, always willing to learn new things…"

"And speaking of willing to learn new things…" Stone turns to Rex, seeing the winged one with his arms crossed and looking at him firmly. "You told us you wanted us here by when the Bright Circle started going down?"

Stone closes his eyes with a smile. "Patience, young one, it will all be clear to you soon. But first, let's get to the chamber, shall we? This tunnel is far too narrow and small for such discussions."

"Right…" Rex mutters as Stone walks past him and toward the chamber. Boy is he cool and collected, kind of the traits you expect from a leader of a strong pack such as the Rock Rangers. He shrugs it off and looks at Yu. "So…Let's get going."

Yu looks at Rex. His mere look makes him recall the words of friendship he told him a few minutes before. Yu knows they'll meet again in the future even if they go their separate ways after this is over. Yu smiles at his friend and nods. "Alright! Let's go!"

A loud roar echoes down the tunnel from the chamber. The two Sharpteeth quickly turn to the sound of the roar upon hearing it, to them the roar sounded painful, and if they remember correctly it sounded like Stone!

"What the heck?!" Yu was the first to speak from the two of them, and not long after they hear a scream. The two Sharpteeth's eyes widen and quickly look at each other, shouting at once. "Emerald!"

The two of them quickly broke out into a run toward the chamber, not only do they fear something happened to Stone and Emerald but they also have Chomper over there! The two friends quickly made their way to the chamber and not soon after spot Stone on the ground a few feet away from them. "Stone!" Rex cries as they run up to him. The Alimon One of his hind leg has been brutally bitten on and his shoulder slashed up. "What happened?!"

Stone growls as he slowly tries to stand back up but only fails as he falls back from, snarling from the pain to his injured leg. "Grrr…Ambushed…"

Rex and Yu look at each other and quickly turn around at a cry for help. There, cornered like rats are Emerald and Chomper. Chomper bares his teeth at their attacker as he stands in front of Emerald, protecting the scared adolescent Alimon.

"You again!" Rex cries with a growl as he and Yu run up to them, glaring at the attacker as he turns around at the cry of the winged Sharptooth. The attacker is none other than an Alimon, a member of the Darkarians as the X scar on his left shoulder proves. By what Rex meant about "You again" is quite simple at the look of the Alimon. Black skin, the grey skin from his jaw down to his neck, the ruby red eyes and the feathers, it's the very first Alimon they met, and the first one who gave them trouble.

The Alimon's eyes narrow slightly and a smirk emerges on his face upon seeing them again. "Ah, I thought this Sharptooth looked familiar."

Rex growls as he bares his teeth at the Alimon, already starting to hate him. "What's your problem?! What do you want?!"

"Ugh…His name is Zebulon…" Rex and Yu turn their heads to Stone. The leader of the Rock Rangers has managed to get up, but from the looks of the wound on his leg and shoulder he won't be able to fight for a while. He winces with a growl from the pain and falls back down to the ground, causing Emerald to flee from his spot and to his father's side. "Nnngh…He used to be a top ranking Alimon, but now…" He slightly gets up with help from his son and glares at the Alimon's direction. "He betrayed us to follow his brother…"

"Oh so now you say I betrayed you." The Alimon, Zebulon, snarls as he glares at the leader of the Rock Rangers. "Keep changing the story, Stone…Your pack treated me unfairly just because of my connection with the leader of the Darkarians! Kept an eye on me everywhere! Your pack basically stressed me out of the pack!"

"We had no choice…" Stone replies with a growl as he struggles to keep standing from his wound. "We couldn't risk anything with the Darkarians involved, we needed security."

"What a way to put it nicely…" Zebulon snarls; he didn't like the way he was treated by the pack, out casting him and such. He charges for some payback on the leader and his son, to make them pay for how he suffered. But before he could lay a claw on them the Sharpteeth trio, Rex, Chomper and Yu, jump in front of them and cut him off from going any further.

"Leave them alone!" Rex cries.

"You can't just hurt them because of how the pack treated you!" Chomper scolds with a growl of his own.

"All they wanted is safety!" Yu repeats. "There was nothing wrong with that!"

Zebulon growls as his eyes dangerously narrow. "You three are getting on my nerves!" He jumps to swipe at them with his claws but hits nothing but air as the three of them jumps out of the way. Zebulon turns to them with a snarl. "Just mind your own business, outsiders!"

"Well we were until you showed up." Rex informs the black Alimon as he gets ready for a fight just in case. "What do you want with us anyway? Take revenge on us for how you were treated or something?"

"For me to know and for you to find out!" Zebulon charges at Rex, his claws ready to tear him apart. Rex runs to the side and jumps, dodging Zebulon's pounce. He turns around and jumps for an attack of his own with his own claws, but just when he was about to make a connection Zebulon easily grabs Rex's paws and throws him over his head and down to the ground.

"Oof!" Rex slams to the ground with a thud. He opens his eyes to see Zebulon firmly gripping at his humanoid paws, having him pinned. But before anything could be done the cavalry arrives in the form of Yu, the Sickleclaw charging and tackling Zebulon away. Zebulon rolls a bit on the ground before getting up and almost immediately having to face Chomper, who throws a bite at Zebulon's face. The Alimon moves his face from being bitten and quickly turns 180 degrees, his tail swinging at good speed to smack at Chomper.

"Gah!" The tail slams onto Chomper and knocks him away, but Rex steps in to fill in for him and jumps at him. Zebulon quickly jumps out of the way to avoid the jump and leaving Rex to land on the ground, which he does gracefully on all four. With a snarl Rex charges at Zebulon all four and tackles right on him, not giving the Alimon a break to move away. The two of them roll around on the ground before Zebulon pushes him off and scrambles back to his feet, rubbing his chin as the winged dinosaur actually injured him.

"Hmph…Little- Guogh!!" A tackle was delivered before Zebulon could finish. He gives a yelp of pain as his back gets bitten on by a certain green Sickleclaw, who at the moment isn't showing any intentions on letting go. The Alimon snarls in pain and tries to shake the Sickleclaw off, but it only makes it worse on him as Yu's teeth are clamped down in his back. "Graaah!! Let go!" Zebulon complains as he continues to try to shake off the Sickleclaw, but try as he might he simply could not get him off.

"That's enough!" A commanding voice shouts at them all. Upon hearing the order Rex and Chomper, who were getting up after being knocked down, turn their heads toward the origin of the voice as Yu stopped applying pressure on his bite and slowly released the Alimon. Stone slowly approaches toward them with the help of his son, dragging his wounded leg as he makes his way toward them. "I do not wish for this to end with violence, so all four of you settle down!"

Zebulon's eyes slightly narrow and he jerks to the left, causing the Sickleclaw on him to lose his balance and fall off. Zebulon backs away from them as he growls shakily, blood trickling down from his back and a drop running down his cheek. Stone looks at Zebulon, his eyes slightly narrow but showing signs of regret. "Zebulon…I do not have an excuse for how the pack might have treated you behind my back…I apologize for any injustice you have suffered…But that does _not_ give you the right to assault me, our guests, and certainly not my son!"

"Hahh…Hahh…" All that came from Zebulon's snout was nothing more than his huffs and puffs for breath. Stone just kept his eyes on Zebulon and continues. "In addition to that, I believe this is not what you want…Am I right?"

Zebulon takes another step back as Rex, Chomper and Yu look at Stone. They don't understand what he just said, what does he believe Zebulon doesn't want? About hurting Emerald and Stone? About hurting them? "Be honest here," Stone continues with a smile. "You don't want to have anything to do with the Darkarians; you were holding back against them, were you?" Zebulon just began to growl, but Stone merely chuckled. "Be serious Zebulon, you were a top ranking Alimon. Certainly you could do better than how you just performed against them."

"_Way to kill our enthusiasm of how better we did than before…"_ Rex thought to himself as he flinched from Stone's comment.

Zebulon's growl ended and is now just giving a serious look at Stone. The leader of the Rock Rangers is right, he was holding back without an intention of seriously hurting the Sharpteeth trio. And what's more, the leader of the Rock Rangers is giving an apology for how unfair the pack has treated him. Zebulon doesn't know what to do anymore now. He came to get his 'revenge' against the pack by attacking, and possibly murdering, Stone's son, Emerald. It was the plan he was suggested to by an Alimon from the Darkarians. While the idea sounded good at first, along the way to the Great Valley Mountains he began having second doubts. He is still unsure about his destiny; either stay with the Darkarians or come back to the Rock Rangers. He keeps eyeing the leader of the Rock Rangers and sometimes glancing at Rex, Chomper and Yu. The three Sharpteeth have gotten up and are now standing together near Emerald and Stone. The situation seems to look like a do or die time…

"My my, what a show…"

The Sharpteeth gang is startled upon hearing a different voice speak. They Sharpteeth trio look around to find the source of the voice, but other than Zebulon, Stone and Emerald there is nobody else in the cave.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything important…"

Rex is puzzled as he finds no source of the voice. He glances at Stone to see the Alimon leader smiling as if happy to hear the voice. He motions at the Alimon in confusion and receives a motion to look up from Stone. Rex scratches the back of his head and looks up, and a gasp of shock escapes from his snout.

Standing upon a ledge right above them is a white creature with majestic wings, white skin color with grey paws and skin from the neck down the chest, stomach and underside of its tail, its sclera yellow with blue eyes, its feathers all white with a grey feather draped right above its forehead and its claws as white as its skin. This dinosaur, very similar to Rex, stands at 9 feet tall.

"No way…" Chomper mutters as he looks up, his eyes set on the white winged one. "I can't believe it…"

Yu was shocked himself. After a very long time of searching they finally find another from Rex's species. After days and days at hard work of searching it finally pays off. Yu slowly looks at Rex to see him practically frozen in place, as if lifeless; it's a miracle the kid hasn't fallen down in a heart attack. After all, no one has been waiting for this moment as much as him. He looks behind him and learns they're one head short! "Ah! Zebulon!" This caught the attention of Chomper, Emerald and Stone. "He's gone!" Yu informs as his head sways back and forth trying to find the black Alimon, but to no avail.

Rex however wasn't interested in the slightest about Zebulon's disappearance; his eyes were glued to the other winged dinosaur in the cave as it slowly descended down with the use of its wings. Rex was flabbergasted, unable to believe what he was seeing. He felt like he was in another one of his dreams, like he will wake up any second now. Instead he was still there, witnessing the creature as it touches down and stands, looks, and breathes like him. Is his adventure really over?

"Greetings, Phantom." Stone greets his white friend.

The creature, Phantom, looks at the leader and smiles with his soft glare. "Greetings, Stone." He then turns his head to Rex. "And who might this kid be?"

Stone nods. "Phantom, this is the child I told you about from time to time since last year."

"Ah, so this little one is Rex, eh?" Stone smirks a bit as he crosses his arms. "He's smaller than I expected. Nevertheless, he has quite an impressive background from what you've told me."

"Heheh! Yup!" Emerald nods with a grin as he walks circles around Phantom and grinning at Rex. "That's him!"

Rex chokes as he tries to hold back the tears of happiness. He still can't believe he's finally face to face with another one of his kind, and he would give a million thanks to Stone if he wasn't fighting back a breakdown right about now. "I…I can't believe it…" Rex finally snaps as he drops onto his knees and down on his humanoid paws, the emotion built in his body finally spilling out in tears as they run down his cheeks and drips down to the soil. "I…I can't believe it…" He repeats as he tries to fight back the tears, but no matter how hard he tries they keep going, the tears going down his right cheek touching and stinging his infected scar, but no pain will hold him back from crying now. "I…We searched for a long time for you! We…We looked everywhere! Everywhere for a sign of your species! Anything!" Rex slowly lifts his head up to look at Phantom. "And…Just when I gave up hope of finding anything, you…You show up practically at home!"

"Quite ironic, isn't it?" The 9 foot tall dinosaur smirks. "Sometimes our most puzzling answers lay hidden deep even in our own home."

Rex smiles, tears still flowing down his eyes. He slowly gets up as Chomper and Yu walk up to him, checking if their friend is alright from the overwhelming feeling he must be feeling at the moment.

"Wow…" Yu says in awe as he looks up at Phantom. "Man, not only are you tall but you look tough and savage…"

Chomper is impressed too, but he quickly goes to the point. "So when Stone meant we would get our answers here, I bet he meant from you?"

Phantom arches an eyebrow. Answers? Ah yes, Stone mentioned how Rex does not have a clue what he is or even if his species exists anymore. Well his mere appearance killed his thoughts of them not existing anymore, so that leaves one more question to answer to the little one. "You've searched the whole Great Beyond just for this, you kids got courage." He crosses his arms again with a smirk and glances at Stone. "Are you sure they're ready for this?"

Stone chuckles. "I believe so, my friend."

"Aw c'mon!" Yu protests. "After all we've went through you're still thinking about telling us or not?!"

Phantom smirks at the Sickleclaw and waves a claw at him arrogantly. "Not so fast, Sickleclaw. While I would love to set all of your questions to rest, there are still the laws of our ancestors to maintain." He moves his gaze to Rex, whose shoulders are sagged and his head bowed down. The child is still letting all his emotion out; tears are still trickling down his cheeks and dripping down to the soil. Phantom eyes the feathers on Rex's head and neck, admiring at how well and healthy they look despite all he has went through in the Great Beyond. "Rex…" Phantom says firmly as his eyes narrow. "Rex, look at me…" The child hesitated, but as told Rex slowly lifts his head up to look at Phantom. His damped cheeks and watery eyes connecting with Phantom's.

Phantom looked deep into Rex's eyes as if reading and looking into his soul, like a trance of sorts. The silence was tense, but Phantom made the first move by closing his eyes. "So…You're already of age…"

"Of…Age?" Rex echoes, confused by what Phantom meant.

"Yes." Phantom responds with a nod while opening his eyes and uncrossing his arms. "Our species are as connected and united as the Alimons. We also have our laws and rules to maintain and uphold. Our offsprings are as sacred as our laws, but the laws enforce us to keep our species' name and ways from our children until they have come of age and can hold such responsibilities."

Chomper cocks his head at such a law, shaking his head a bit and adjusting his body a bit as he takes a step forward. "Is there some reason for that? Doesn't it sound a bit unfair for the kids?"

Phantom only chuckles. "We withhold such a law for fear of our children not being mentally ready for such truths."

"All of that just because of a name?" Chomper shrugs with a raised eyebrow.

"There is more to their kind than meets the eye." Stone interrupts. "Now please, allow Phantom to continue."

Chomper rolls his eyes and lowers his head. "Sorry."

The 9 foot tall Phantom clears his throat before continuing on. "Now, as I was saying. Rex, your species is a proud and strong race. We do not fall lightly to any enemies. We are one of the most feared species and we take pride of such power, but we never abuse of it." Phantom starts to smirk as he notices Rex's eyes sparkling upon hearing such stories of his species, and he knows his excitement will only grow as he continues on. "Our species rival the Alimons, yet we do not wage war against each other, but merely co-exist and help one another."

Emerald recalls how a certain legend goes that started the peace and bond between the Alimons and Rex's species. And knowing it by memory, he recites the legend to them all. "A legend goes that a long time ago a creature with a tremendous amount of power and strength waged a fight against another creature of the same amount of power…" As Emerald told the legend Rex, Chomper and Yu could picture the fight in their head, as if watching it right then and there in the chamber…

"_The two creatures exchanged blows with one another…Each of them receiving deadly and mortal wounds…But none of them showed any signs of backing down…"_

"_Legend goes that the fight lasted for as long as the Bright Circle and Night Circle floated in the sky…They never stopped fighting and devastated landscapes, mountains and fields…"_

"_Until finally, to end the fight, the two of them charged and exchanged deadly blows…And just like that the two creatures fell and never got up…"_

Rex, Chomper and Yu stand there in awe of such a legend. To think that two creatures fought for so long, destroying everything in their path and ending in such a stalemate. Emerald was very into telling the legend that he even had his eyes closed as if he himself was picturing the fight in his mind. "The descendants of the creatures from the legend made a truce and forged a bond ever since…And those two creatures were the Alimon…" He opens his eyes. "And the Dracovol…"

The three Sharpteeth's eyes widen and the three of them at once take a step forward toward Emerald. "Wha…What did you say?!" Rex inquires.

Phantom nods. "Just as you heard. From this legend the bond between the Alimons and your species was forged…And just like you heard at the end, that is your species name…" He slightly narrows his eyes. "The Dracovol."

Chomper and Yu look at each other before looking at Rex who is now looking up at Phantom. So, Rex is a Dracovol? The humanoid dinosaur species who can fly and are able to run and walk on all four if desired. The species who can supposedly match the Alimon and descendants of the Dracovol from the legend. "A…Dracovol?" Rex mutters as he falls down on a sitting position, taking in as much information as he can, this is what he has been searching for a year now and he does not want to forget this special moment in his life.

"Yes, a Dracovol." Phantom confirms as he closes his eyes. "A proud and strong species that lives shoulder to shoulder with the Alimons in peace and harmony." Phantom takes a deep breath and continues. "And we make our home in the valley of the Sharpteeth and Leaf-Eaters," He suddenly opens his eyes. "To the south from here; Crescent Valley."

Rex is in awe. Finally, after a year he finally finds his answers, and even more than he thought he would find. A Dracovol…The species that can take on and befriend Alimons and live in harmony with Leaf-Eaters like he just said Crescent Valley is. "…Crescent Valley…" Rex mutters to himself as he slightly lowers his head.

"The home for Dracovols?" Yu inquires.

"The closest one." Phantom replies. "It's mostly a meeting place for them, but there's a whole pack, my pack, living there in harmony with Leaf-Eaters."

"Impressive." Chomper acknowledges the Dracovol species. "Not about the valley, but everything about your species. I mean, it all sounds so cool!" Chomper grins and pumps his arms once. "Kind of makes me feel special I have a Dracovol as a friend! Heheh!"

Phantom chuckles at the Sharptooth's personality. Changing his sighs on the young Dracovol, he can tell he's still reflecting about it all, as he can see him sitting there on the ground. "Well, that is all." He kneels down to Rex and places a humanoid paw on his shoulder. "Brain's not fried there, is it?" He jokes with a chuckle.

"Heheh, no it's not." Rex replies with a grin. And so this chapter of his life ends, his questions finally answered and discovering all he wanted to know. He stands up and looks around at his friends, how happy he is to have such allies. "Well…I umm…Heheh, I don't know what else to say other than thanks for all your help…"

Chomper grins and walks over to Rex, giving him a nudge. "Aw c'mon! You can do better than that!"

Yu giggles and walks up to them both. "Yeah! I think something in your brain _did _fry after all!"

Rex grins and clutches his head, playfully acting like he's worried. "Oh no! You really think so?"

"Hahahah!" Chomper laughs. "Nope! Nothing's gone!"

"Hahah! Got that right!" Yu grins as he circles around his Dracovol friend. "Still, I still can't help but think something is loose in that head of his!"

Emerald giggles and joins in. "Then let's tackle it back into place!" With that he tackles Rex to the ground. With a laugh Chomper and Yu follow in and dog pile on their Dracovol friend, and Stone and Phantom couldn't help but chuckle at the children's antics. If that didn't tackle anything loose in Rex's mind into place, nothing will.

The group of friends laughs as they celebrate the meeting of their long sough-after goal, another chapter of their life coming to a close. Rex laughs through his big grin as he lies under the pile of friends, happy to have such friends in his life willing to stand by his side through anything. Though he doesn't realize it now, in the back of his mind the place Crescent Valley is nagging at him. And when this laughing fit and play time is over he will not be able to ignore the nagging.

But for now, laugh and have fun, young Dracovol. You and your friends have earned it…

* * *

OK, I forgot to add this when I originally uploaded the chapter. I'm sure you all noticed the addition of feathers on Rex later on in the chapter. It's a new addition to the design of his species I worked out with co-authoress, DarkHououmon, you'll be seeing it from this point on in the story.


	9. A new mystery unfolds

"Vlad, wait up!"

Night has descended upon Crescent Valley, the forested area as dark as it can get with the Night Circle illuminating as much as it can through cracks in the leaf-filled treetops. Vlad is found walking through the forest at a rather fast pace. His face is set on a mild glare as he makes his way through the area, not bothering to slow down despite his friend's cry to wait up for him.

"Wait!" Kedem cries as he catches up to him, panting and puffing as he tries to catch his breath. "Wait! Wait!"

But Vlad didn't stopped until he reached the lake they were hanging out earlier that day. He stops at the edge of the lake and turns around, watching as Kedem caught up and stands in front of him gasping for air. "Hahh…Hahh…What's wrong with you?" He inquires as he looks up at him. "This isn't like you at all! Ever since that close encounter with that Alimon you've been acting strange."

Vlad sighs as he walks away from Kedem, intending on continuing his way. "Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind…"

Kedem cocks his head, worried about his friend's well-being. He has never seen Vlad like this before, isolated, silent, dark; it was as if he was turning into a darker version of Shino. And that scares him. Kedem scratches his head and gives Vlad a look. "It's about that Alimon we saw earlier isn't it?"

Vlad stops at the mere mention of the word 'Alimon,' his blood running cold as the name 'Axel' comes back to his mind. He slowly closes his paws into a fist, gritting his teeth as his anger slightly increases. Like he told her before, he hates her so much; for hurting him, for trying to kill him, for killing…

"…Vlad?"

Vlad suddenly turns to Kedem, his eyes in a deadly glare and baring his sharp teeth. "Yes it's about that stupid Alimon!! She gets me so mad it makes me wanna pounce the closest living thing and rip its throat out!!"

This sudden anger took Kedem by complete surprise. He backs away at Vlad's threat of ripping throats out, his heart frozen in fear as Vlad continues to verbally vent his anger.

"She keeps stalking and visiting me just for kicks!! It makes me so…so…Argh!! I wanna bite someone in the face!!"

Kedem heard enough. "Vlad, stop it! You're disturbing me…!"

Vlad breathes deeply after venting out his anger, his sanity catching up to him as he realizes what he just said in his anger. He closes his eyes and rubs them with the palm of his paws as he steps back and slightly turns away from Kedem. "I…I'm sorry…"

Kedem was speechless. This attitude isn't like him, totally out of character. In all the years he has known him he was never like this. Well sure, once or twice, but nothing to this extent. Kedem brings up his courage and steps in. "Vlad…What's going on here? Why did that Alimon came here?"

Vlad slowly removes his paws from his eyes, the look of sadness evident on his face as the memories return to him like a horrible plague. He slowly turns to Kedem with a sight, intending on letting his friend in on what he has kept secret deep in his heart. "All right…The truth…" He walks over to the boulders and sits on one of them, sighing as his shoulders sag. "That Alimon…I know her…"

Kedem slowly approaches and sits on one of the boulders as he listens to Vlad's words.

"Her name is Axel, and let me tell you, she's one mean Alimon…She has toyed with me for as long as I can remember. She's horrible, never leaves me alone…" Vlad blinks and looks up at Kedem's eyes. "As for how I know her…Well, I nearly became her dinner once."

Kedem winces, the mere thought of almost becoming food to an Alimon like that sending a chill down his spine. He didn't know his friend has had a very close encounter with an Alimon…

"And…" Kedem is brought back to speed as Vlad continues. "You know about my mother, right?" Kedem lowers his eyes and nods, he's well aware of the untimely demise of Vlad's mother. Although he was never told how she died, he heard from his father that Vlad's mother died after he hatched.

"Well…She died…Because of that monster…"

Kedem's eyes widen. Did he just heard right? That Alimon they saw, the same Alimon that Vlad is talking about, killed his mother? Kedem was at a loss for words, utterly shocked to learn that he just saw the murderer herself right here in the valley. He slowly lowers his head, his eyes avoiding Vlad's. "Oh…"

With a slight growl Vlad slowly gets up from the boulder, showing his anger. "My mom saved me from her…But then she decided to kill her instead…"

Kedem slightly winces at the growl his friend was making, not daring to make eye contact with him. "I…I'm sorry to hear that…"

"I hate her so much…" Vlad continues to vent his anger. "She keeps haunting me, reminding me of what she did to her…Why can't she just leave me alone…!"

"So, that's why she knows you."

Kedem lifts his head upon hearing the voice, looking around for the source. Both of them look toward a tree close to them and they spot Shino sitting on one of the branches, apparently overhearing what they were talking about. A bit fumed, Kedem takes two steps toward him and arches an eyebrow. "How long have you been there?"

Shino chuckles a bit and stretches his arms out. "Oh, long enough." He jumps down from the branch and lands on the ground on all four. Slowly getting up on their usual legs he walks toward his two friends. "Sounds like you really hate her."

"You bet I do…" Vlad growls as he lowers his head, the anger still getting to his head as he keeps thinking of that Alimon. His blood just boils at the mere mention of her name, the memory of how she murdered his mother, how she taunts him so. "Oh how I wish I could get my paws on her…!"

"Then why don't we?" Shino suggests; a suggestion which caught Kedem completely off guard and making them both look at Shino. With a slight shrug Shino just gives a smirk at them. "Well? If you're so bent on getting her, why don't we hunt her?"

Kedem slowly shakes his head, his mind already labeling this idea as a horrible one right off the bat. "Are you crazy?! Do you even have any idea what you're even saying?!" Kedem rushes up to Shino as he continues. "Nobody has fought against an Alimon and lived! How can you say that we should go hunt down an Alimon?! We're not grown up!"

"Ah c'mon, Kedem, those were just stories." Shino teases as he lightly pushes Kedem away, a hint of confidence in his voice. "You can't take every story seriously. Besides, we're due to a hunt anyway and I am getting tired of eating green food. I'm itching for some meat and you know hunting isn't allowed in the valley."

Kedem shakes his head as he backs off from Shino's light push, unable to believe what he's hearing from his friend. For the three of them to take on an Alimon just like that? Not even Shino would do this. He has a huge urge to go 'who are you and what have you done with Shino,' but remembering the past stunts this Sharptooth has done this really shouldn't surprise him. "This is a joke, right?" Kedem manages to say after a few seconds of silence from him. "I mean, this is a very extreme stunt, even for you." He shakes his head and holds up his humanoid paws. "I'm not taking part of it; I can go hunt things I can actually take on. And I'm sure even Vlad won't g-"

"Let's do it."

Kedem jumps ands looks at Vlad. "What?!"

Vlad lifts his head with a glare. "I don't buy the stories of Alimons being unbeatable. I'm sure we can take her on. And I really want to take her on, to finally get her to shut up." He starts to growl. "I'm gonna make her pay for what she did to my mom…"

Shino nods with a smirk. "All right, so it's settled. We set out tomorrow morning! We'll meet up here when the Bright Circle is touching the Northern Mountains. Rest up." They both nod and walk away toward their homes, leaving Kedem behind as he's still in shock that Vlad is actually going to go through with this. They could, _will_, get themselves killed.

He shakes his head with a grunt as he clutches his head, throwing his eyes up to the heavens. "Am I the only one with common sense around here?!"

* * *

With night settling into the world there is little to do with those who aren't nocturnal. Those who work by the light settle into their nests to sleep until dawn arises, their minds and thoughts at ease as their eyes close as they depart for that peaceful nightly slumber until their light arises once again for a brand new day. This is no different in the land of the dinosaurs.

Right now in the forested area just outside a mile away from the Great Valley a pack of Sickleclaws are patrolling the area, ready to call it a night. In the middle of them all the hatchlings and young ones are getting ready to turn in for the night. Some of the Sickleclaw hatchlings are eagerly running around an adolescent Sickleclaw, laughing and hopping around him as if wanting to play a bit more before having to turn in for the night.

The adolescent chuckles as he's being overwhelmed with six hatchlings running circles around him, begging to play. "Heheh! All right you guys, settle down. It's time for sleep."

"Awwww!!" The hatchlings complain. "But we don't wanna go to sleep yet!"

"Just one more game!" One of the hatchlings pleads as she hops up and down. "Please, uncle Yu!"

Yu chuckles with an innocent little grin, he's not really their uncle but gets a kick at how they call him their uncle, and it's kind of cute. "Hey, I'm the one in charge of you little guys, and I say it's time to sleep."

The hatchlings go 'awww' again and walk to their little nesting area to sleep, some giggling as they nudge each other along the way while others take it slow from the disappointment of going to bed. Yu chuckles as he teases the little ones with a playing tone, "Yeah yeah, don't put your little pouting faces at me, straight to the sleeping place." He grins at one of them as he lags behind the group as he gently nudges him forward with his snout, making the little one giggle from the nudge and picks up the pace to be with the others. "Go on, huddle up for warmth and have a pleasant sleep!"

"Goodnight, uncle Yu!" Every single one of the hatchlings shouts back at him.

"Heheh, goodnight." Yu replies with a giggle. He watches them as they all leave to their sleeping area picked out by the grown-ups, counting heads to make sure he has them all accounted for. His fears are realized with a wince as he counts he's one head short. And judging by the hatchling's colors and markings he knows exactly whose missing.

"Oh great…" He looks around sniffing at the air, trying to locate the missing hatchling. Upon catching the scent he curses under his breath and follows it, soon after catching the little wagging tail of a green Sickleclaw hatchling crouched down preying on a little lizard sitting on top of a rock. With an annoyed growl Yu approaches him, "Terrel!"

"Wha?" The hatchling instantly turns around, his tail slightly hitting the rock and startling the lizard. Realizing his tail struck the rock he turns around again, to his frustration seeing his snack running away. With a little pathetic growl he turns to Yu. "Hey, you made me lose my snack!"

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to stay with the other hatchlings!" Yu slightly scolds the little one. "You can't just waddle away by yourself. You could get in trouble!"

Terrel just smirks and stands up tall and proud as if he has something to prove. "Ah c'mon, I can take care of myself!"

Yu arches an eyebrow. "Uh-huh, yeah, someday. But right now you're under my care and responsibility. You can't just walk away from us especially on a new area; you could get hunted by bigger Sharpteeth!"

"No Sharpteeth in their right mind would hunt me!" Terrel hisses before turning around to look again for the lizard that escaped from him. "You said it yourself once, I would be nothing more than a snack!"

"And it was with that same attitude that you went after that little crawler! Snack or not other Sharpteeth would hunt you. You just can't be left alone while you're this small."

"Oh stop worrying! Nobody's gonna hunt me!"

Yu blinks and shakes his head at the little hatchling. "Ugh! You're so stubborn just like your father!"

"I could say the same to you!" Terrel replies as he turns around to face Yu…Erm, more like face his knees. The little one lifts up his head to look at Yu. "You may be my cousin but that doesn't give you the right to boss me around!"

"As your older cousin I have the right to protect you, even if it means bossing you around." Yu lowers his head and gently nudges Terrel toward the nesting area's direction to get him moving. "So back to the others you go, it's time to sleep." Terrel moves and stops look back at Yu, but it is futile as the Sickleclaw is well aware of his movements as he once again nudges him forward with his snout. "And no tricks, move straight forward."

As they both move in sight to the rest of the pack Rex couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Yu once again keeping a close eye on Terrel as he basically forces him to the nesting area of the hatchlings, he's well aware of the many mischief's that little cousin of Yu's get into. Rex is lying down with his humanoid paws behind his head as he rests the back of his head on a boulder, looking around his surroundings as he too is about to close his eyes for the night's sleep. He moves his eyes up to the sky as the word 'Dracovol' repeats over and over in his mind. He still can't believe that he finally found what he was searching for, after so many Bright Circles roaming around the Mysterious Beyond questing and searching. He felt so happy he felt like flying as high up as he could and give out a huge, loud shout of glee into the sky.

He looks toward the direction of the Great Valley, seeing the mountain walls in the distance kissing the sky. He's planning on waking up bright and early, say his goodbyes and return to his home, to his friends, to his family.

"I'm almost home, Littlefoot…" He talks to himself. "Tomorrow's the day…"

He smiles warmly at the thought of returning home after so long. Sometimes it makes him wanna think 'hey, why wait until tomorrow?' But, he knows they all might be sleeping right now, and he wants to get there when they're all awake and ready, not to just get there and have them wake up with him already there sleeping the day away. Can you blame the Sharptooth for liking to make an entrance?

"Um, Rex?"

Rex turns his head to the left, spotting the familiar figure of the T-Rex Sharptooth he has grown to love as a friend. He shows some concern in his face as he notices the look on his face, the look of sadness. "Chomper? What's wrong?"

"Well ummm…" Chomper fumbles as he looks down at his feet. "This is…The last night we'll be together, huh?"

Rex blinks as he looks at Chomper. He must be really sad. Now that he has found what he was looking for, there is nothing holding him in the Mysterious Beyond anymore. He can go back home. But that means he'll leave such great friends behind. Rex mentally shakes his head, of course this won't be their last night together. "Aw don't be like that, Chomper." Rex manages to speak. "Even if I'm going back home tomorrow, that doesn't mean we won't see each other again. Even if we're parting ways tomorrow, we'll see each other again."

Chomper raises his head to look at Rex and sheds a smile. If anything, he knows Rex's words are always the truth. If Rex says it, he means it from the bottom of his heart. He could always count on Rex to make him smile. "Promise?"

Rex smiles and nods. "Promise."

"Ugh, he's such a handful…"

Rex and Chomper change directions of their gaze upon hearing Yu's voice. The poor Sickleclaw looks pretty tired after having to deal with the hatchlings, and especially with Terrel. "Heh, tough day with the hatchlings, eh?" Rex inquires with a smirk.

"Like you wouldn't believe…" Yu replies as his shoulders and head sag, extremely tired as he slowly walks past them both. "I'm off to sleep…Wake me up when the pack moves out if I sleep in…"

Rex and Chomper chuckles to themselves, slightly amused at Yu's misfortune of taking care of the raplets. If anything, the job of taking care of the raplets has got to be the most exhausting and tedious job any Sickleclaw of the pack can get. It tests your patience, your attitude to others, even your sanity. "Poor Yu." Rex comments with a chuckle.

Chomper giggles before turning to Rex. "Well it is getting late, we better go to sleep."

"Yeah." Rex acknowledges with a yawn. "See ya tomorrow, Chomper." He says one last time before closing his eyes.

"See ya, Rex." Chomper replies before heading off.

Rex gives off another yawn as he tries to sleep, the excitement of returning home fresh in his mind as it wanders. He just can't wait to see Littlefoot and the others again; they all must've done their fair share of growing up. He slowly smiles to himself as he can picture the warm welcome he would get. Yeah, tomorrow's the day…

He slightly frowns and opens one eye as he feels something brushing up against him on his left and something lying down on his side. Looking through his opened eye he smiles as he sees none other than Chomper and Yu huddling up with him for the night's sleep. Chomper's head resting against his side and Yu curled up to his next close to him. He couldn't help but to place his left arm over Yu and his right arm over Chomper. This is gonna be their last night together for now and they decided to keep him company to the end, and he couldn't be any happier than he is now to have such great friends. He closes his eye once again to sleep, eagerly waiting the dawn of a brand new day…

Night went as soon as it came, the Night Circle left as the Bright Circle came to shine upon the world once again. Rex was fast asleep with Chomper by his side as the trees shade them both from the Bright Circle's rays of light, preventing them from being woken up by the light and warmth. It was really early in the morning; most of the pack is still asleep while there's barely a few of them already awake and patrolling the area, for security and to search for food. Seems like another day he's going to sleep in…

"Rex! Rex!!"

That is, until a rather panicked Sickleclaw wakes him up.

"Rex!! Wake up!!"

Rex groans and turns over on his side, trying to ignore the voice to continue sleeping. Too bad the one trying to wake him up isn't going to give up so easily. He yelps as he's suddenly pushed, turning him over on his belly and waking him up from the shove.

"Rex!! C'mon!!"

"All right! All right! I'm up!" Rex responds as he slowly picks himself up onto a sitting position, rubbing his eyes from the grogginess. The commotion has also woken Chomper up as he groans and stretches with a yawn before sitting up.

"What's going on…?" Chomper asks weakly after just waking up.

"It's Terrel!" Yu cries desperately. "He's gone! I went to check up on the hatchlings and he's gone!!"

Rex and Chomper look at each other with widen eyes. "What?! No way!" Rex cries as he turns to Yu, quickly getting up to his feet. "What do you mean he's gone?!"

Yu shakes his head rather rapidly. "I don't know! He was just gone! He's not where he should be!" Yu is really afraid; he knows the type of stunts Terrel can sometimes pull. Dangerous or not, that cousin of his has a knack for stirring up trouble for both him and Yu. If anything happens to him not only will Yu be in a _lot _of trouble but he also won't forgive himself. Despite being at each other's throats frequently Terrel means a lot to him and he would be really crushed if something bad happens to him.

"You gotta help me find him!" Yu pleads, nearly about ready to cry from his desperation. "If my dad finds out…If something happens to him…"

"Hey hey, calm down." Rex instructs as he holds up his paws at Yu. "We'll find him. He couldn't have gotten far. Let's just take a deep breath and sniff out his scent, shouldn't be that hard."

"He's right, we'll find him! Don't you worry!" Chomper cheerfully comments in an attempt to cheer Yu up. "Like Rex said, he couldn't have gotten far. We'll just sniff him out!"

Yu nods with a sniff, holding back his tears from his huge amount of worry. "Thanks guys, I appreciate it."

By then Chomper and Rex were already sniffing the air to sniff the raplet out. After all, Sharpteeth have a keen sense of smell and can track down virtually anything if they set their mind into it, but to track something as small as a raplet could prove difficult, especially if they're oblivious to the time Terrel disappeared. However, good luck was on their side as Chomper picked up Terrel's scent, leading him toward a direction as he follows his nose. "I think I can smell him!" Chomper informs them as he walks while he sniffs, following the scent to the north.

With their only lead Rex and Yu follow the adolescent Tyrannosaurus-Rex, trusting him the duty of following the scent. It's still quite early in the morning so they have some time to find him before Yu's dad wakes up or worse, before _Terrel's dad_ wakes up.

The three of them continue following the scent to the north, walking through the forested area and seeing the prehistoric wildlife around them waking up for the morning. It didn't take long for them to find themselves facing the base of the mountains walls which belong to the Great Valley. They look down every direction of the wall, seeing nothing of the ordinary except for a few cracks here and there on the mountain wall. Yu's worry grows a bit more as he finds a cave as he walked down the right side of the mountain wall as he followed the scent. Peeking inside the cave stretched into the mountain quite a ways before complete darkness hinders his view inside. "You don't think he…" Yu begins to comment, unable to continue. He's well aware of the Alimons living in these caverns, the Rock Rangers to be precise, the protectors of the Great Valley.

"Actually…" Chomper starts as his eyes travel upward. "The scent leads…Up there…"

Rex looks up. Rock formations on this section of the mountain wall have formed a stair-like section. Small Sharpteeth like them could climb up on it and perhaps reach an area on top of the mountain walls if not the actual top. Rex sniffs the air and to his dismay can also smell the scent of the raplet leading up there. "No doubt about it…" Rex comments.

"Oh no…" Yu starts to shake his head as his concern rises. "No no no no no! He can't be up _there_! He could fall and kill himself!"

"That's the least of your worries if the Alimons find him first!" Rex brings such information to Yu's attention. "If they don't know Terrel is with you they're going to kill him first and ask questions why he's there later."

Yu's eyes widen. Great, just what he needed early in the morning, a reason to exercise going up a mountain wall to find his possibly already dead cousin. He sometimes just can't believe that Sickleclaw and his mischiefs! It's going to be the death of him! Without a second thought Yu runs up to the rocks and jumps onto them, climbing up the wall at an overwhelming speed. Clearly his desperation can be seen at how fast he's defying the dangers and climbing. "Then what are we doing down here?! We just gotta find him!!"

"Hey! Be careful!" Rex cries out to him before he too starts climbing after him.

"Don't go too fast!!" Chomper warns out to Yu before he climbs after Rex.

The three of them climbed and climbed up the mountain as high as these stairs-like rock formations could take them. Neither of them dared to look down concerned that a fear of heights would trigger and make them freeze in place. Pebbles and small rocks gave way and crumble down to the ground below as their feet would shift and push off dust and pebbles, each of them climbing up as far as the rock formations could take them.

"Oh, I can't believe he would actually climb this!" Yu comments as he struggles to continue on upward as one rock gives way to his weight, forcing the Sickleclaw to shift his weight onto a more stable rock. "When I find him he's so gonna get it!"

"That's if we do find him in one piece!" Rex replies as he's second place in the climb. "One false move and we could all fall to our deaths!"

"At least you got wings!" Chomper points out as he catches up to Rex, balancing on one foot as he just jumped onto a boulder, nearly losing his footing.

The trio kept climbing until they reached the end of the formation, a flat level of the mountain wall to their right, quite a risk to get to it as it takes a good jump to get there. Being a Sickleclaw, Yu makes a daring leap and lands on the platform without much difficulty. Rex was next as he too reaches the end of the formations. After making the jump they turn to Chomper, who seems to be having second thoughts and doubts about doing the jump.

"C'mon Chomper, it's not that hard!" Rex encourages.

"Ummm…I don't know…" Chomper looks down at the gap between him and the platform Rex and Yu are standing on. They gotta be nuts to think he can make that jump. He slightly backs away from the rock's edge; he was never that good at jumping.

"C'mon Chomper!" Yu cheers.

"All right, here I go…" With a gulp Chomper crouches down and makes a daring leap from the rock he was on to the platform the others are on. It was a daring move to his standards, and one that he probably won't make it. To his surprise his feet touch the ground, but to his misfortune he barely landed on the edge. One of his feet slip and he barely balances himself on one foot, his body leaning back as he tries not to fall as he moves his arms in an attempt to balance himself forward. "Whoa! Aah! I'm gonna fall!"

"Chomper!!" Yu and Rex yell at the same time as they lunge forward and grab his arms, suddenly pulling him back and the two of them falling back onto the platform and shoving Chomper toward and landing on top of them.

"Phew…" Chomper sighs in relief as he lies on top of them in a dog pile. "Um, thanks!"

"Gugh, don't mention it…" Yu mutters as he's the one on the very bottom of the pile. As Chomper and Rex move to get off of him he takes a quick sniff of the air, catching not the scent of Terrel but the scent of another dinosaur. "Hey, you smell that?"

"It wasn't me." Chomper quickly responds.

"Not that." Yu replies as he gets up while still sniffing the air. "I smell…Well, something unfamiliar."

Chomper blinks and sniffs the air as well; catching the scent Yu is talking about. "Um, who do you think it is?"

Rex joins in the sniffing; he too sniffs the scent they're referring about. "I don't know…" Another quick sniff has him recognizing the scent. He whiffed this scent before, back in the cave with the bones after being attacked by the Alimon, Zebulon. Yeah, no doubt, it's one of the Alimons that showed up along with that female. "Uh-oh…"

Yu and Chomper look at each other in slight fear upon hearing that. Yu slowly turns his head to Rex, "…Ummm, uh-oh?"

When the three of them shut up they begin to hear voices just past the narrow passageway in front of them. If their hearings are right they can confirm about two beings talking. Rex would like to believe they're Rock Rangers but the fact that he caught this scent before at a hostile situation he knows they're not friendly. As much as he wants to leave, they still haven't found Terrel. What if those beings have him?

Cautiously and silently Rex slowly makes his way through the passageway. And seeing him go, Chomper and Yu have no choice but to move forward along with their Dracovol friend. As they tiptoe and sneak their way closer the voices gets louder and louder until they can hear the conversation crystal clear.

"So, the boss issued such a command, eh?"

"Yeah, after Axel told him about him it didn't go well with the boss."

"I really don't understand why he's all worked up about him, it's not like he has any idea what's going on anyway!"

The gang looks at each other before continuing any further. Just who are they talking about? Who's this guy that has the 'boss' worried about? Shrugging to themselves, they continue forward and spot the beings who are talking. Alimons, plain and simple. Rex recognizes one of them; the same one that wounded him back at the cave with the bones. Excluding Zebulon, the female and the one Donovan killed, he's the same one; brown skin with black stripes along his back and black feathers. The second Alimon there he's unfamiliar with. He's yellow with white coloring his muzzle and going down his neck, his chest, stomach, and to tip of his tail, white between his brows, down his neck, across his back, and to the tip of tail. His claws are unique, they're light blue and his eyes are blue against white. Looking at his feathers, some of them are ripped, and of course, a scar in shape of an X adorns his left shoulder.

In an attempt to not get caught, the trio hide behind a huge boulder just around the corner from where the passageway ended.

"All of that aside," The brown one starts. "Did the boss give us any orders yet? This job is really getting boring."

The yellow one merely shrugged. "He didn't say anything. He just wants us to stay here and do what we were assigned to do."

"Keep an eye out for the Rock Rangers and occasionally hunt in the Great Valley to make a point. Same old same old." The brown one scoffs, growling in annoyance. "This is so stupid! We're getting the same old information from spying on the Rock Rangers. When is he going to issue the order already?!"

"I could care less about his orders." The yellow one confesses as he lies down, his head turned away from his comrade.

"What's with that attitude?!" The brown one hisses as he jumps up from his sitting position. "I'd have you know if it wasn't for the boss you'd be dead by now from the last assault!"

"Don't remind me, I'm well aware of that…" The yellow one slowly gets up and stretches his forearms before standing up straight. "I'm just beginning to doubt that maybe, just maybe this plan of his won't achieve anything other than another useless mad slaughter."

"Useless mad slaughter?! You'd best change that attitude of yours, Amaro." The brown one smirks. "Because this time, the Darkarians have an ace in the hole…"

The yellow one, Amaro, merely arches an eyebrow. "You mean the dinosaurs from Crescent Valley?"

Crescent Valley? That's the valley Phantom said where Dracovols live. Rex, Chomper and Yu look at each other; they couldn't possibly mean that the Dracovols are in on this rebellion too and helping the bad guys…Could they?

"Oh? So you're in on it too?" The brown one responds to Amaro's knowledge of the plan. "That's a bit unexpecting considering the boss tends to keep such information exclusively to his most trusted soldiers."

"Shows how much you underestimate me…" Amaro informs his comrade as he slightly turns his back toward him, keeping his head down looking toward the Great Valley. "Of course that doesn't mean I'm entirely on your side…" He coos.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"No, nothing." Amaro fully turns toward the brown Alimon, his head held high and standing tall. "Now if you excuse me, I'm returning back to the boss. I believe it's my turn to report what we've learned so far."

"Just don't get lost along the way!" The brown one teases with a smirk. "The Mysterious Beyond is a huge and vast wasteland. We wouldn't want you to run into any inconvenient company."

Amaro couldn't help but chuckle. "Your concern is touching, but I would worry more about your own hide. If the Rock Rangers find you, you can kiss your tail goodbye." With that Amaro turns and walks away, jumping onto a tall platform to the top and climbs his way down the mountain wall toward the Mysterious Beyond.

Shocked upon hearing this, the gang slowly back away from the scene and to the safety of the passageway they crawled from. "I can't believe the Dracovols are really in on this rebellion." Chomper comments.

"You don't really believe the Dracovols are helping them, do you?" Rex inquires as he too is shocked that his own species could be involved on this rebellion.

"Well…I don't know." Chomper replies with a shake of his head. "I mean, we really don't know any better from your kind. How can really be sure about what they believe in."

Rex kind of took offense of that. "So you're basically saying since my kind is Sharptooth they're automatically after the Great Valley and the Leaf-Eaters inside it, huh?"

Chomper is taken back by the sudden conclusion and quickly shakes his head. "I didn't mean it that way; I mean there are still a lot of things we don't know. We can't just jump to conclusions."

Rex folds his arms as he lowers his head, thinking it over. Even though he's a Dracovol, he doesn't know any better than Chomper and Yu does. He really can't call himself an expert of his own kind to disprove their involvement if he himself doesn't anything from his own kind. "I guess you're right…Maybe we ought to find Stone and mention this to him. He'd know what to do…"

"Hey! Let me go!"

Rex and Chomper jump from the sound of that voice and upon hearing a horrified gasp from Yu, who stayed a bit behind keeping an eye out on the lone Alimon. Turning around and hurrying up to Yu's side they too gasp in horror. Another Alimon just showed up, a white one with light-blue in front of his muzzle down his neck, chest, belly and the underside of his tail along with some stripes from the back of his neck down to the tail. Some of his feathers are white while some are light-blue, and clamped up gently in his mouth is a raplet.But not just any raplet, it's Terrel!

"Stormwhite!" The brown Alimon hisses as he sees what his comrade is carrying. "What in the name of Alimon are you doing?!"

"Heh, check what I found wandering around." Stormwhite spits out the raplet to the ground, mischievously grinning down at Terrel as the unfortunate raplet backs away in fear. "The little twerp thinks he's a big-shot hunter or something; tried to take a bite out of me!"

The brown Alimon growls as he looks down at the cowering raplet, annoyed as he's unable to believe what he's seeing and hearing. "I gave you orders to look out for any Rock Rangers nearby and you bring back this little runt just because it had an attitude toward you?!"

Stormwhite arches an eyebrow and growls. "Well excuse me for being polite by bringing you a little snack! If I'd known you didn't want it I could've killed it and eat him up myself!"

That comment just boiled Yu's blood. Nobody, not even an Alimon, has the right to threaten his cousin like that! Without thinking the enraged Sickleclaw runs out from their hiding spot and charges toward them. "Don't count on it!!"

"What the?! Yu! Get back here!" Rex cries out as he runs after Yu in an attempt to stop him.

"Hey!" Chomper yells as even Rex ran out, and at the most inopportune time. They won't survive this…

"Hm?" Stormwhite turns his head to his left from the commotion, seeing the newcomers run out toward them.

"Yu!!" Terrel cries out with glee, almost immediately running toward his cousin and hiding behind his legs as he peeks out to the Alimons. "Get 'em, Yu! The white one tried to eat me!"

"Well well, looks like we have some company here!" The brown one smirks upon seeing the Sickleclaw. His eyes widen a bit as he spots the Dracovol, immediately identifying him as the one he fought with back at the cave. "Oh look, if it isn't my ol' friend!"

Rex glares at the brown one as he remembers all too clearly how he wounded him so back at the cave of bones. He has the urge to lunge at him to finish things once and for all, but seeing he has a friend with him, that idea doesn't sound so good. They can barely do anything to just one, let alone two.

Rex lightens up and chuckles nervously as he slowly turns to leave with a paw on Yu's shoulder trying to get him to leave with him. "Uhhh heheh, yeah…We were looking for this little guy and we're sorry we intruded so if you excuse us we'll-" He stops dead short in his tracks just as he stood around when Chomper suddenly falls to the ground in front of him with an 'oof'. Looking forward he's discouraged to see Stormwhite standing between them and their passageway exit. The Alimon jumped in and blocked their way…

"Leaving so soon?" Stormwhite teases as he chuckles. "But you're the guest of honor! Especially you, Dracovol! You're the dinosaur we've been looking for!"

Rex blinks. Looking for? They've been looking for him? What the heck is that supposed to mean? He has never met an Alimon before in his life until recently, how could they have been looking for him? The brown Alimon he can understand, since he never technically finished a fight with him. But with this white one?

"Darn straight!" The brown one agrees. "The boss has a bone to pick with you! And you're coming with us, piece by piece!"

This is bad, the trio thought. They're cornered between two hungry-looking Alimons with no way out. The three of them stand back to back to protect Terrel as they keep an eye out on the two Alimons as they start circling them. They'll spring at them any second, and they won't survive a fight against them both at the same time. Thinking fast Rex remembers the yellow Alimon's exit, spotting the platform right in front of them. They could reach it with a good leap.

"Guys, on three we run for it." Rex whispers to both Chomper and Yu. "Just follow me."

Yu stammers and turns his head to Rex. "Um, is that three as in 'Three!' or as in 'one two three!'?"

"What does it matter?!" Chomper snaps.

"Three!" Rex shouts and starts running forward. Stormwhite tries to intercept him but Rex manages to swat him off with a quick slash. Although he missed, the Alimon jumped out of the way to avoid the slash, giving them the opening they needed. Chomper was next to follow him as Yu lagged a bit behind picking Terrel up in his mouth and running for it, nearly having his ankle chomped on by the brown Alimon.

"Argh! That little twerp!" Stormwhite insults as he snarls. "He nearly wounded me!"

"Who cares!" The brown Alimon hisses. "After them!!"

The gang manages to jump up the platform and onto a flat area of the top. Not wanting to slow down they run away as fast as they can with two furious Alimons at their tail. They try their best to run as fast as they can with little slowdown, their hearts beating against their chests as their feet carry them as fast as they can. They nearly scream as they hear the Alimons give a roar after jumping up to their level and taking chase after them, adrenaline cursing through their bodies as they continue running away from them. Rex looks around as he huffs and puffs in his run, trying to find a place they could hide or lose them. Just to his right he spots a slight drop on the area; maybe they could hide over there.

"Over here!" He shouts back at his friends as he takes a sharp right, headed to the drop. He quickly jumps down it and looks behind him, seeing an indent where they could hide. He quickly dives into it and looks as Chomper and Yu make the jump down too. He grabs at their tails and pull them toward him into his hiding spot, quickly placing his paws over their muzzles to keep them from making that scream of surprise. He slowly releases their muzzles, allowing Yu to put Terrel down to the ground and catch his breath.

"Ah great, where'd they go?!" They hear Stormwhite inquire in frustration. They seem oblivious to the little hideout just under the drop-off.

"Well that's just great! First you let them get away because the Dracovol nearly slashed you and now they disappeared!" The brown one scolds with a snarl.

"Hey, don't blame it all on me! If I recall you also reacted slow and sluggish to stop them from running off."

"Ah forget it! Let's get out of here before we're caught by those Rock Rangers, at least we still have the valley to hunt in."

The trio sighs in relief to hear them gone. Once again they evade death by just a feather. Yu shoots a mild glare at Terrel who in return slowly lowers his eyes to the soil. "Terrel…" Yu lightly growls, but as quickly as he did he softens his glare and stops the growl, sighing in relief. "What would I do if anything were to happen to you…"

Terrel sighs sadly as he slowly walks up to you and rubs his muzzle against Yu's side. "I'm sorry…I just saw one of them heading here this morning and I got curious…"

Yu manages to shed a smile and lowers his muzzle, gently nuzzling his little cousin. "At least no harm done, for now."

Rex peeks out from their hiding place and looks back at the gang. "Let's just go home before something else finds us."

All four of them slowly get out from their hiding spot, looking around making sure nothing else is going to chase them, but fortunately the coast is clear. There's nothing but rocky formations and the clear blue sky looking at them, nothing more nothing less. Rex slightly turns to his friends as he clutches his left shoulder, rotating his arm as it has gotten sore from being crumpled up in that little hiding spot. "Man, it's like we're having bad luck with Meat-Eaters these days. Just a few Bright Circles ago Yu and I got chased by a Fast Biter, yesterday we had to fight against the Sodom pack again and now we're getting the heat from Alimons."

"Well we are kind of getting involved between the Rock Rangers and this rebellion by staying here." Chomper comments as he too stretches a bit. "I say we get back home right now!"

"But what about what those Alimons said about 'others from the Crescent Valley' being involved?" Yu reminds them. "I think we should let Stone know about this at least."

"Let Stone know about what?"

The gang flinches, hoping that didn't sound like what they believe it sounded like. They slowly look up to see the two Alimons just looking at them, laying down relaxed on the ledge as they apparently overheard everything. Stormwhite chuckles at seeing the boy's shocked expressions. "Oh c'mon, you didn't really believe you could've lost us that easily, did ya?" He points at his nostrils with a slick smirk. "Dude, our sense of smell is excellent. We knew you were there all along."

The brown one growls in pleasure as he stands up and jumps down to the gang's level, licking his lips as he slowly stalks over to them. "Enough talk! It's time to feast!"

The trio backs away as the Alimon approaches them, the fear growing each step the Alimon takes as he gets closer to them. With a smirk Stormwhite jumps down from the higher ledge and makes a leap to attack them, but right in mid-air a black figure tackles him down to the ground, surprising the trio and the brown Alimon.

"Ah, Zitro!" Chomper cries out in relief.

The black figure, Zitro, stands up as he now towers over the Alimon he has tackled, growling as he pins him down with one paw. "I should've guessed you two were here."

Stormwhite, who's pinned to the ground by Zitro, couldn't help but growl upon seeing the black Alimon again. "Why you…"

Ignoring him, Zitro quickly turns his head to the trio. "You guys, get out of here now! I got this one!"

Rex, Chomper and Yu look at each other and nod before turning tail to run. It looked like they were going to make it too until Zitro spots the brown Alimon preparing to go after them. "Oh no you don't!"

Zitro was about to jump at him but this slight distraction cost him as Stormwhite broke out of his pin and threw him to the ground with a tackle, landing on the ground with an 'oof.' Stormwhite grins as he stands over Zitro, ready to fight. "Not so fast, buddy. You and me got a score to settle!"

As for the brown Alimon he lunged and zoomed past the four Sharpteeth, standing between them and the path that could've led them to safety. They stop in their tracks and, knowing they're going to have to fight to get out, take a step forward and get into their fighting stances. Terrified, Terrel hides behind Yu's leg, ready to get out of there if things go bad.

The brown Alimon couldn't help but grin, thinking this as being cute. "Heh, cute. You think you can get past me? An Alimon?!" The brown Alimon chuckles and lowers his body a bit, ready for the attack. "I'm going to enjoy this…"

Noticing a growl escaping from Yu's gritting teeth; Terrel backs away and hides behind a boulder.

"Come on, make this easier on yourselves and just give up." The Alimon comments before lunging at them to fight. The three of them gasp and leap out of the way, barely avoiding the lunge as the Alimon skids to a halt and turns to them with a smirk.

Rex eyes him and keeps his distance as the Alimon picks him as his target. The Alimon growls and runs up to him for a vicious bite, but the Dracovol uses his wings to jump over the Alimon and land behind him to dodge the bite, but with a swift move the Alimon turns and slams his tail against Rex's side, throwing him off.

Gritting his teeth from the impact Rex regains his composure and swings his claws at the Alimon. The creature simply jumps back to avoid the slash, but leaving his back completely open he yelps in pain as a certain T-Rex adolescent bit on his tail and yanks it, making the Alimon lose his footing and fall to the ground. Yu took this chance and charge in to sink his teeth into the Alimon's neck, but the tough Sharptooth pushed himself off the ground with his left arm, quickly rolling out of the way and letting Yu's mouth close on nothing but air. The Alimon quickly swiped with his arm and manages to cut Yu's muzzle before he could retract it, making the Sickleclaw screech in pain. Not finished the Alimon quickly kicks with his back legs to attack Chomper, but witnessing how he avoided Yu's attack Chomper released the tail and backed off.

Never the one to see his friends hurt Rex charged in and jumped to slam onto the Alimon with his claws, but as quick as he is the Alimon rolls away from the landing spot. Rex slams down onto his four paws on the ground but never to miss a beat he quickly turns to the Alimon and charges while on all four, growling as he almost immediately closed the distance between him and the Alimon and swinging a paw for the slash. This surprised the Alimon and snarls in pain as Rex's claws came in contact with his face, knocking him down with a cut on his cheek. Rex immediately bridges the slash with a sudden jump in another attempt to land onto the Alimon with his claws, but he receives a good kick to his stomach as the Alimon brings up his rear legs and connects them with Rex's stomach, throwing him off to the ground.

The Alimon quickly gets up and turns to Rex to attack again. "Heh, got you n-Whoa!!" He barely managed to swing his head out of the way when he spotted Chomper lunging in to bite into the his head, he let his moment of cockiness get to him once again and nearly got his head bitten and crushed! Feeling insulted by this near kill the Alimon growls as Chomper backs away, intimidated by the growl. He runs in to attack the T-Rex but before he could have a chance at laying a claw on him the Sickleclaw tackles him, toppling him to the ground.

Wanting to pay him back Yu brings up a leg and stomps it down onto the Alimon to give damage, but at the last minute the Alimon was quick to regain his composure and roll away to dodge the stomp, but he wasn't spared of the claws as Yu's sickle-shaped claws on his foot managed to graze him, giving minor but painful damage. Cursing under his breath the Alimon backs away after getting up, but in his slight wincing of his injury to his face and ribs he barely caught wind of a charge approaching from his right until it was too late. As he turned his face to the right he could only receive a sudden blow to the head by the Dracovol, the power of the smack veering his head to the left and making him fumble, barely managing to keep his footing.

Remembering a little something he remembered in their last fight against Zebulon, Yu runs in to the dazed Alimon. He recalls how much trouble Zebulon had to just get him off his back, he just couldn't get to him with his teeth or claws. Thinking it could work again he makes a jump to latch on his back, but just when he did and was ready to bite down the Alimon had already regained his composure and catches on to his plan. With a snarl the Alimon jumps and trashes violently, forcing the Sickleclaw to lose his footing and fall to the ground, leaving himself open! He gasps as the Alimon turns to him with a vicious snarl and lifts his paw up in the air, ready to kill him.

But just then the Alimon roars in agony, his paw slamming hard on the cold ground. He roars even louder as he rears back and trashes his head left and right, confusing the Sickleclaw. As the Alimon lowers his head to continue the trashing he realizes Chomper latched onto the Alimon's back himself and sunk his teeth into the back of the Alimon's neck. The young T-Rex must've caught on to Yu's plan and backed him up!

"Arrrgh!! Get off of me!!" The Alimon screams in agony as he tries to shake Chomper off, but he's really hanging on there by the Alimon's flesh.

Re x and Yu back up as the Alimon is trashing about wildly as he continues to try to get the Sharptooth off his back. Try as he might he simply cannot get him off, in fact Chomper just latched onto one of the Alimon's blind spots, the back of their necks. The Alimon rears up on his hind legs as he continues his attempt to get him off, but Chomper simply hangs on as his razor sharp teeth are slowly tearing deeper into his flesh, and if this keeps up the wound is going to be so severe he's going to die. Getting desperate the Alimon rears back toward one of the mountain top's high stalagmites' walls to crush Chomper between it and him. The T-Rex is not even aware of this as his eyes are completely shut as all he's doing is trying to keep his grip tight into the Alimon's neck.

Noticing this Rex and Yu gasp, "Chomper, look out!!"

But it was too late. Chomper opens his eyes wondering what his friends mean until he felt the cold stalagmite wall impact against his back, feeling his muzzle getting crushed against the Alimon's neck and his body getting squished between the Alimon and the rock. Dazed and hurt Chomper's bite on the neck loosens as his body falls to the ground after the Alimon backed away after the slam, huffing and puffing in agony as blood trickles down his neck and dripping to the ground, he just cannot believe a runt like him got him so good like that!

Angered the Alimon takes a step toward the dazed Sharptooth for the kill, but his keen sense of smell and hearing catches the sound of one of the others charging up to him. He turns his head to catch Rex and Yu go in for the attack, but this time they made the mistake of going head-on. With a growl the Alimon leaps out of the way, the two friends carelessly running into each other and bumping into each other's heads, giving off each other a headache.

"Gah!" Rex complains as he clutches his head. "O w ow ow!"

"Guck! That hurt!" Yu complains as he shakes his head as he tries rubbing his head.

Taking this moment the Alimon charges in and slams his powerful paw against Yu's head, sending him flying to the ground and rolling until his body hits the boulder which Terrel was hiding behind.

"Yu!!" Rex cries out as he holds out his paw to him.

Horrified to see his cousin taking such a blow Terrel jumps from behind the boulder and to his cousin's side. "Yu!" He cries as he nudges his unconscious cousin, trying to get him to wake up. "C'mon, wake up Yu!" He glances and notices the Alimon heading their way, getting him desperate to wake his cousin. "Come on! Get up! He's coming over!"

"You kids are more trouble than you're worth!" The Alimon shouts as he approaches the downed Yu, but before he could take another step he stops as Rex stands between him and the Sickleclaws. With an angry glare Rex charges in with a downward slash at the Alimon's head. He misses by inches as the Alimon steps back and lands on all four, immediately leaning back and stepping to the right as he avoids a bite from the Alimon.

With a snarl Rex pounces with his humanoid paws, which the Alimon catches with his front paws, locking each other's paws. As Rex tries to overpower his opponent he suddenly gets a flashback to his very first Alimon fight, how this same position got his muzzle bitten by Zebulon, a painful attack he wished he didn't have to suffer again. Rex's eyes suddenly widen as the Alimon growls and throws his head forward, attempting to do that same attack Rex dreaded. But not this time. This time Rex veers his head to the left, completely avoiding the attack as the Alimon's teeth clamp shut on nothing.

Thinking quick Rex shoves at the Alimon, surprising him and almost toppling him down on his back. With his free paw Rex flexed his claws and swung. The Alimon saw this and tried his best to maneuver to avoid this, but he couldn't do much up on his hind legs. The slash missed his arm as it went under, but it was horrible news for the Alimon as the slash went upward until it contacted his chest…

Time seemed to have slowed down and the world's sound seemed to have come to a mute as what has currently happen take place. As Chomper regains his senses after being slammed against the boulder he watches in horror at what he sees. Yu, who has finally regained consciousness and beginning to regain his senses, also witnesses what unfolds in front of him in horror. As for Terrel, he's terrified.

Rex had just slashed the Alimon from the chest up to his left cheek; the painful wound forming as the claws viciously cut him. It was all going so slow for Rex he had no idea what he just do until his claws disconnected from contact after finishing the slash to the Alimon's left cheek. The wound, the blood suddenly spraying to his face for the second time, it was…familiar.

And just like that, a figure suddenly flashed in his mind…

Zill…

His mind returned to normal at the sound of the Alimon's body hitting the ground, but not before the traumatic memories return to him. The memories of being chased by Zill. The memories of inflicting such a deadly wound on him. The memories of his blood spraying on his face like it just did with the Alimon. The memories of…Devouring Zill…

"Guh…" Rex wobbles a bit after recovering from such a déjà-vu, feeling a bit queasy and disoriented after having some blood sprayed on him. "Wha…What just happened?" He looked down at the defeated Alimon, noticing the wound. "Wha…What did I just do?"

Chomper and Yu slowly get up after recovering, both of them a bit shaken up by the level of violence they just witnessed. They knew Rex was vicious at times, but that…That was…Horrifying…

The brown Alimon stirs, surprising them all to see that he can still move after such a horrifying wound. "Guh…I gotta say…You three aren't bad at all…"

Rex shakes his head slowly, unable to believe he can even speak after such damage to his neck. It just gets worse as Stormwhite suddenly leaps from out of nowhere and lands next to his fallen comrade, protecting him from the trio. Stormwhite seems to have been in a hard battle himself, he has a slash wound to his cheek and some bite and slash marks around his shoulders and legs, he also sports a bleeding wound to his ribs. "Hahh…Hahh…Wow, these kids did a number on you."

The wounded Alimon grunts as he tries to get up. "Ugh…Bite me…"

Rex takes a step back before Zitro enters the scene. He has seen better days as well, his face is smothered with blood as a slash wound adorns his forehead and cheek, his shoulders has taken slash wounds and a bite was inflicted on the back of his neck. "Face it you two, you've lost. Your hunting days in the Great Valley are over."

Stormwhite just chuckled arrogantly. "Oh I don't think so, Zitro. In fact, I think it's just beginning."

Zitro's eyes slightly narrow trying to make sense at what he means, but Stormwhite just continues. "You see, I too was confused when I was ordered to hunt in the Great Valley, at first I didn't know what it was supposed to accomplish, but then, it started to make sense…"

"Why don't _you_ start making sense." Zitro growls. "What are you talking about it all starting to make sense? I thought it was clear your pathetic Darkarians wanted to destroy the laws and decimate the valley and be done with it!"

"My, aren't you a bit slow."Stormwhite smirks. "I guess you'll find out soon enough." He turns his head to his comrade, unfortunately it seems the wound is too much, he can't really get up.

Zitro shakes his head. "Unfortunately you two won't be around to see your ideals fail, this is the end for you two."

Before Stormwhite couldn't even respond his sense of smell catches the scent of someone. Soon his hearing catches approaching footsteps, and according to the others' look on their faces, they also hear it. "On the contraire…" Stormwhite responds with a smirk. "I think we'll last a bit longer."

Rex and Chomper look around as they too begin to hear the sounds of footsteps. Zitro stands cautiously as Yu slowly gets up to his feet with little Terrel hearing the footsteps and hiding behind his cousin.

"Uhhh…OK, I don't like the sound of this…" Chomper comments as he takes a step back, listening as the footsteps come closer.

It didn't take long until they find out to who the footsteps belong to. From behind a rock formation behind Stormwhite a tall figure comes out, an intimidating Sharptooth with sharp claws arming his feet and paws, razor sharp teeth in his mouth and two wings behind him. This creature stands tall, not as tall as a fully grown T-Rex Sharptooth but close enough. This creature, standing at about twelve feet tall, is a Dracovol, a grey, blue-eyed Dracovol with black paws and legs up to his knees, a scar across his face.

"Wha…What?" Zitro exclaims as he takes a step back, lowering his body in defense upon seeing the newcomer. "A-A Dracovol?!"

Rex is glued to his spot, trembling as he sees his second Dracovol. Words can do no justice with how excited he is to see another Dracovol, but his only wish is to have this sighting under better conditions. But as he recalls the other two Alimon's conversation his excitement is killed. The creatures from Crescent Valley they mentioned, their 'ace in the hole'…

As for the Dracovol, he only eyes the gang before narrowing his eyes. Upon this Zitro's eyes narrow. With instincts he charges in for the attack, aiming his offensive to the Dracovol. He makes a leap to shred him apart with his claws, but before he made the leap the Dracovol lowered his body and sprung up, his arm outstretched and, as if in the blink of an eye, struck out, slamming his powerful paw against Zitro's face before the Alimon could've gotten in range with his paws. Blood from Zitro's face fly from the smack as his body flings back and slams against a boulder. In agony the Alimon drops to the ground after the slam, barely holding on without passing out.

"Nice." Stormwhite comments after seeing the attack. The Dracovol merely straighten up after the attack as he looks at his humanoid paw, slightly stained with the Alimon's blood.

Rex, Chomper, Yu and Terrel are horrified, paralyzed in fear after seeing such an attack. The Dracovol did that without much effort, as if he knew where to hit to take him down. "Did…Did you see that?!" Yu exclaims to the others.

"He…He didn't even have to move…" Chomper acknowledges.

"Hah, got that right." Stormwhite grins as the Dracovol calmly turns to the wounded Darkarian and checks up on his wounds. "My buddy here is not one to fool around with! He can take you down before you can even make a move."

The Dracovol takes note of the wound and turns his head to the gang, scaring them as they take a step back. The scent of blood coming from Rex's face confirms it; he's the one that wounded this Alimon.

Stormwhite takes note of the Dracovol staring at the kid. "Looks like somebody got his attention."

Rex gulps and takes a step back with the group as the Dracovol slowly gets up, his eyes set on them. Slowly, the Dracovol lifts a paw, pointing his claws at Rex. "What is your name?" The Dracovol finally speaks; his voice low and intimidating.

Rex hesitates to answer, but the intimidating look the Dracovol gives him clearly lets him know it's not a good idea to keep it from him. Chomper and Yu both give him a look not to tell him, but Rex gives in to the Dracovol's look. "…Rex."

The Dracovol cocks an eyebrow. Rex. Why does that name sound familiar? He recalls acertain information he obtained and remembers. "Ah yes, the reclusive one. Ally of the Leaf-Eaters." The Dracovol's eyes narrow a bit, his eyes still set on Rex. "You have quite a reputation preceding around the Alimons…"

"What?" Rex was taken by surprise upon hearing this. Is this Dracovol telling the truth? "You…You know me?"

"Not just me, but all the Alimons in the rebellion…" The Dracovol sheds a smirk. "And I must admit, I am proud of you for having such a reputation…"

"What are you talking about?" Yu speaks out. "I mean, why are you proud of him if he has never seen you before!"

"Guh…Isn't it a bit obvious?" The wounded Alimon manages to get up, unbelievably also manages to speak despite the bleeding wound which is slowly zapping away at his life. "Take a good look and take a wild guess…"

The trio looks at each other. Take a good look and take a wild guess? Rex looks back at the Dracovol with a mild glare, unable to believe one of his own kind is even helping these malicious Alimons. He glares into his eyes, his blue eyes…Wait, blue eyes? Rex couldn't shake the feeling about something, something clearly wasn't right. Despite him never seeing this Dracovol before, he felt strangely attracted to him, like a parental attraction…Wait, parental?

Somehow the riddle was slowly being undone in his mind, and he was beginning to dread what he's learning. Starting to tremble Rex takes a step back, his eyes widening in fear as he's starting to make up his own answer to the riddle ignoring the fact that he may be wrong.

"Huh? Rex?" Chomper looks back at his Dracovol friend as he's backing away. "Wha-What's wrong?"

With a growl Yu glares at the Alimons and Dracovol. "You. Just what the heck are you implying to him here?!"

The Dracovol smiles a bit with his usual glare. "You could say…" He then holds out his paw to them. "He's…Like a son to me."

All of them gasp. Did…Did they just heard right? Could this Dracovol be…?

"No way!" Yu cries out with a furious yell as he charges at them.

"You're lying!!" Chomper adds as he too charges in anger.

But their effort to shut this Dracovol up was in vain. The Dracovol merely took a step back and, at the right moment when they sprung to attack, swung his arm out with his claws flexed for the strike. Being seven feet taller than them both he powerfully strikes Yu down with his arm and immediately after lifting up his leg and kicking Chomper down, the both of them suffering damage from the Dracovol's claws and slamming hard on the ground. They never stood a chance.

"Yu! Chomper!" Rex shouts in horror.

"Yu!! No!" Terrel shouts as he quickly runs to his cousin's aid.

Rex is frozen stiff as he just witnessed his friends being swatted off like that. He turned his head back to the Dracovol, who just merely stood up straight after the defense and returned his gaze to Rex.

"Wooh! Now that was a big ouch!" Stormwhite bragged after seeing two more Sharpteeth bite the dust at the paws of his Dracovol companion.

"Shut it." The Dracovol ordered. He continues looking at the trembling youth and merely shook his head. "Pathetic to see yourself being friends with such inferior Sharpteeth, you have much to learn…"

Rex starts to growl. He can take an insult to himself, but when his friends are the one being insulted that's crossing the line. The Dracovol once again held out his paw toward him. "Come son, I'll show you what you're really capable of and your right place in life."

Rex growls as he takes a step back. "I'm not your son…" To make a point he recklessly charges at the Dracovol. "And I'm not going with you or either turn my tail on those I care about!!"

The Dracovol growls in disappointment and steps forward. Rex jumps for the attack but the Dracovol jumps to the side, dodging the six foot Dracovol. Rex gasps and uses his wings to try to take flight for another go, but immediately he feels a sharp pain on his tail. The Dracovol bit into his tail. He yelps in pain as he's suddenly pulled back and thrown back, flying and crashing into Chomper and Yu, who were just about to get back up.

The gang lay defeated in a dog pile after having Rex crash onto them, both of them suffering minor injuries but tired and in pain. After taking down an Alimon they come up against another new opponent, and just like their first Alimon encounter they get wiped out just like that.

"Too bad," Stormwhite comments. "He could've gotten quite a future."

The Dracovol turns to the left, his eyes still on Rex before leaving. "Kill them. Remember, no survivors."

"With pleasure…" The wounded one growls.

Zitro, who just regained consciousness, slowly struggles to get back up, his face bleeding now more than ever from the attack he suffered to the head from the Dracovol. He slowly opens one eye and spots the Dracovol leaving, leaving behind the two Darkarians to finish the job. "Oh man…This is bad…"

Rex, just recovered from the impact, sits up and breathes deeply; the wind was knocked right out of him from impacting against his friends. And now his tail hurts thanks to that Dracovol.

"Well you heard the boss!" Stormwhite exclaims as he turns his head to his ally. "Breakfast is on him!"

"Gladly…" The wounded one growls. "I have a bone to pick with that Dracovol…I'll pay him back for hurting me…"

In an instant the wounded one jumps for the attack, his claws aiming right at Rex. The Dracovol closes his eyes and holds out his paw in defense, bracing himself for the attack. But just then someone jumps down from the higher ledge and tackles the Alimon down to the ground, pinning him by pressing a front paw into his face, the claws prickling into his skull.

"I don't think so, loser…"

Rex opens his eyes and leans forward, looking at his savior. "Tanner!"

"Oh shoot." Stormwhite curses as he backs away, it's always bad news for him when Tanner is around, usually a backup or the whole Rock Ranger army is not far from him.

The red Alimon, Tanner, towers over the wounded Alimon as he presses his paw down on his face, growling as he has the Darkarian in his grasp, "I should've known all this bickering were coming from Darkarians scum like you!"

"Argh! Tanner!" The wounded one struggles to break out of the pin, but his strength has left him and he cannot wiggle free. "Grragh! Stormwhite! Help me!"

Tanner's eyes narrow dangerously as he turns his head toward Stormwhite, who seems to be making heads or tails about what to do. In the end, he just shrugs. "Sorry buddy, but you know what they say! When the plan goes bad, every Darkarian for themselves!" He turns his head to the trio and smirks. "As for you three, see ya next time!" And with that he turns tail and flees.

"Agh!" The wounded Alimon yelps as the pain to his head increases under Tanner's paw. "You double-crosser!!"

"Shut it, punk!" Tanner hisses as he presses his paw down on the Alimon's head, shutting him up.

Yu and Chomper manage to stand up, relieved to see that Tanner came when he did, otherwise they would've been dead already. They look at each other before turning to Rex, who's sitting there staring at where the Dracovol left. Obviously the Dracovol is making heads or tails about that Dracovol they saw. How he said 'son' and when he said he was like a son to him. It didn't make sense unless you think about it in one way…

"Um, Rex?" Chomper inquires as he lightly nudges his Dracovol friend. "You…OK?"

* * *

It would be wishful thinking that today in the Great Valley it was like any ordinary day. After finding that corpse yesterday everything was thrown into chaos for the young ones. No more are their freedom to wander about wherever they wanted, no more the carefree atmosphere in their home.

Thanks to whoever hunted that Leaf-Eater there are more strict rules placed on the children. For starters they cannot go too far from where the grown-ups are, at least being within eyesight of the Longnecks of the valley. Second, they are forbidden to go into the Shadowy Places and caverns. Third, they cannot approach _anything_ they don't recognize at first sight.

"Aaah! I hate these rules!" Cera shouts in frustration as she slams her front paws on the ground. "I can't believe they're making us sit around here doing nothing! I mean c'mon! It's not like we're going to chase after some stupid Sharptooth running around!"

"But what if Sharptooth find us?" Petrie asks as he hovers around Cera's head. "We'd be in big trouble!"

Cera snorts. "Yeah well, it's not like we haven't come up against Sharpteeth before!"

Petrie shudders. "Me no know about you, but Petrie not want Sharptooth to find us!"

"I agree with Petrie." Ducky speaks as she pauses her play with her big brother with a pebble. "Sharptooth are big and scary! I think it is best we stay here like the grown-ups say so we do not find the Sharptooth and he does not find us."

"Awww you two are a bunch of scaredy eggs!" Cera snorts as she looks down at Ducky. "If that Sharptooth finds us I'll take care of him with a good hit with my horns!" She points her horn at nothing and kicks up dust with her forepaw. "That'll teach him not to mess with us when I'm around!"

Ducky giggles. "Oh yes! That Sharptooth will be ascared with you now! He will! He will!"

Cera blinks and turns her head to Ducky. "Now?! What's that suppose to mean?!"

"Well, you are bigger now and stronger." Ducky replies with an honest face.

"That right!" Petrie adds as he flies next to Cera. "Cera can handle more now!"

Cera thinks about that and sports her usual 'of course' grin. She has gotten bigger and stronger during the past year, so now she can deal and handle more. "Well of course!" She replies. "After all, I'm a Threehorn! The best that there is!"

Ducky and Petrie giggle, good ol' Cera with her good ol' attitude. They look at each other and notice someone is missing from their usual chatter. Turning to the right they see Littlefoot all by himself lying on the ground, looking up at the sky toward the mountains far into the distance.

"Littlefoot, what's the matter?" Cera asks as she turns to her Longneck friend.

"You have been pretty quiet for a long time now." Ducky comments as she walks over to him.

"Hm? Oh, sorry…" Littlefoot answers as he snaps out of it, slightly lowering his head. "I've just been thinking…"

"Thinking? About what?" Petrie inquires as he flies over to Littlefoot. "Thinking about Rex again?"

The name hits his heart as he lowers his head a bit more. But no, it isn't about Rex he's thinking about. "No Petrie, just…Well…"

Cera arches an eyebrow. "About what? Spit it out!"

Littlefoot stands up and look both ways, checking out if there are any grown-ups close by that could hear him. Getting close to his friends he lets them in on a little something he has kept to himself since yesterday. "I saw the Sharptooth that killed the Spiketail yesterday."

The gang gasps. Littlefoot saw the Sharptooth yesterday? Cera takes a step forward. "You saw it?! Where?!"

"Well, close to the mountain walls after the Shadowy Place." Littlefoot looks left and right again and continues. "But it was strange; it wasn't like any Sharptooth I've ever seen. His neck was almost as long as mine and kind of looks like a Longneck."

"Yeah right." Cera snorts as she rolls her eyes. "A Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck, that's a good one."

"And then the strangest thing happened!" Littlefoot continues with his story. "Just when I thought the Sharptooth was going to eat me another Sharptooth of its kind came to the rescue! He saved me from the other Sharptooth and then just disappeared!"

The gang looks at each other dumbfounded. A Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck. A second Sharptooth is in the valley. This second Sharptooth saves Littlefoot from the first one and then disappears. Where do they draw the line between believable and unbelievable?

Ducky looks horrified by this information. "A Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck? That does not sound good at all, oh no no no…"

"S-s-s-s-scary thought…" Petrie trembles as he lands and hides behind Spike's tail. "Sharptooth looking like Longneck. He could be anyone and not realize it!"

"Oh please!" Cera snaps as she rolls her eyes. "There's no such thing as a Sharptooh that looks like a Longneck! And even if there is we could easily tell by its teeth and claws!"

"Hm, maybe." Littlefoot mutters. "What do you think, Spike?"

As usual Spike turned his head to the closest bush of green food he could find and started munching on it, ripping off a mouthful of green food and chewing on them before swallowing. The gang couldn't help but laugh at Spike's happy-go-lucky attitude.

Ducky giggles. "Spike does not think we should worry! He knows the grown-ups will keep the bad Sharptooth away!"

"He has that right!" Cera smirks. "And even so, that Sharptooth has to go through me first if he wants to get to the grown-ups!"

Littlefoot giggles. He knows the grown-ups will protect them from the Sharptooth. After all, the grown-ups have saved them from Sharpteeth many times; this can't be no different other than having to protect them from a new kind of Sharpteeth. Despite his laughter right now he's still worried about seeing a new kind of Sharptooth, and to top it all off, it looks eerily similar to a Longneck despite its size.

Littlefoot calms down from his laughter and takes a deep breath recover. "All right, I think we should tell the grown-ups about this Sharptooth now."

"Aw that can wait!" Cera informs his Longneck friend with a smirk. "Besides, we haven't played anything all day yet!" She walks past Littlefoot and stands in front of him. "And guess what?" After that she taps Littlefoot with her paw and topples him down onto his back from the force. "Tag! You're it!"

"Oof!" Littlefoot blinds as his mind catches up to him at what just happened. Realizing he just got tagged for a play of Tag he giggles, Cera got him good. It just stinks that he got tagged so easily and to top it all off, all of them must've been in on it and ran off right after Cera tagged him.

"Why those guys…" Littlefoot mutters with a giggle as he rolls over and gets up. "As soon as I tag one of you guys we really have to tell the grown-ups!"

He was about to run off when he stops, having that feeling of being watched. His heart skips a beat upon thinking about that Sharptooth he saw yesterday. What if he's back? With a gulp he turns abruptly, facing what he knew was a Sharptooth. The Sharptooth stands at about five feet with black skin and some red is seen on his tail and red eyes, also a scar on his left cheek. His anatomy reminds him of Rex, since to his belief they might be of the same species. Suddenly the memories of his adventure from last year pop into his mind, and he remembers who this Sharptooth is.

"Oh, it's you." Littlefoot comments. "The Sharptooth that helped us get back into the valley."

The Sharptooth smiles and turns around, walking into the forest just a few feet away.

"Hey wait!" Littlefoot cries as he runs after him. "There's a Sharptooth out there! It's not safe!"

Kind of ironic, a Leaf-Eater warning to a Sharptooth about another Sharptooth in the area. The Sharptooth didn't let the warning stop him as he continues walking to the forest with Littlefoot following him from behind. "Are you sure you're going to be OK?! Come back!"

"I'm going to be OK, kid. Trust me." The Sharptooth speaks out before disappearing through the woods.

"Yeah, I thought so…" A good question suddenly pops into his mind. "Hey! Just how did you get in here anyway?!" He cries out as he begins to chase him again.

The Sharptooth didn't bothered to answer this one, he just disappeared somewhere in the woods. Littlefoot runs into it and looks around, finding nothing but trees and shadows. "Where'd you go?!"

"I'm sure you saw them, didn't you?" Littlefoot looks left and right and saw nobody. It wasn't until he looked up that he saw the Sharptooth sitting on a tree branch looking down at him. "The Sharptooth that's hunting in the valley, huh?"

Littlefoot continues looking up at him. "Uhhh…Why you ask?"

"I don't think you wanna keep that as a secret." The black Sharptooth warns the Longneck. "As cool as it may be having a secret between friends, this isn't something to take lightly. There's more from where he came from. And if this goes on, you'll see a lot more of them." The Sharptooth jumps up to his feet and looks back down at the Longneck. "After all, you _do_ want to see Rex again, right?"

Littlefoot gasps, this Sharptooth remembers him! "Rex?! You mean you know where he is?! Is he OK?! Is he close?!"

"Littlefoot?!" Cera's voice is heard calling out, causing the Longneck to turn around to where the voice is coming from. "Littlefoot! Where are you?!"

Oh boy, he suddenly forgot they were expecting him to chase them in a game of Tag, and although he would love to play with them he was advised to tell the grown-ups as soon as possible about the Sharptooth that he saw yesterday. He looked back up at the black Sharptooth only to find him gone, just like that.

"Littlefoot!" Cera speaks out again as she finds him in the forest. "What's the matter? You didn't chase us at all!"

Littlefoot continued his gaze up at the tree for two more seconds before he shook his head and turned to Cera. "Nevermind that. C'mon, I gotta tell the grown-ups about the Sharptooth I saw, _now_!"

Littlefoot sped off afterwards, his Threehorn friend feeling a bit disappointed but went off after him, knowing he was right. "Well OK, but you really think they'll believe you about a Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck?! Even I'm having trouble believing that!"

While the two Leaf-Eaters sped off the black Sharptooth chuckled to himself as he watches them leave from the shadows of the leaves. Despite him having a blast playing hide-and-seek with others to play with their minds, he did the right thing advising the Longneck to immediately tell the grown-ups about the Sharptooth he saw before they strike again, it would allow them to survive for a bit more before this problem could be fixed.

* * *

An hour passed since that little fight at the mountaintop took place, at the moment that same area is occupied by three Alimons from the Rock Rangers observing the area and patrolling it in case other Darkarians have come across the place. So far, nothing.

Donovan, general of the Rock Ranger's army unit, was there. While three Alimons from his unit were patrolling the area he's discussing about what happened with Tanner. They didn't manage to get anything out of the Darkarian Tanner pinned, he died from blood loss before the nurses could even begin to treat the wound, and he wasn't very cooperative in giving information.

"So…" Donovan speaks after hearing Tanner's report. "The Darkarians seem to have a Dracovol on their side…" He opens his eyes and looks at Tanner. "And you're telling me this dinosaur defeated Zitro with little effort?"

Tanner nods. "I saw him take him down when I got to the scene, it was really something else. One blow to the head and he was out. I mean, I know they're tough but I didn't think this tough…"

Zitro nods in understanding. "And what of the boys?"

Tanner shakes his head. "Compared to Zitro, all they suffered were bruises and scratches. According to Zitro they were the ones who fought the Darkarian that just died, I was impressed."

"They were lucky." Donovan comments as he recalls the Alimon Tanner speaks of. "His name was Brownstone; he was a low level member of the Darkarians. If they would've fought against Stormwhite instead then they would've kissed their tail goodbye."

Tanner nods, yeah, he remembers Brownstone. He was a former Rock Ranger until the Darkarians' ideals got to him; he found them better than the Rock Rangers' and jumped ship. He couldn't help but feel hatred toward him, unable to believe he would betray those he stayed close to since his birth.

"So the boys are with the nurses being treated for their wounds as requested?"

"Of-Of course." Tanner nods almost quickly as the question broke him out of his trance of thoughts. "I personally saw to that after you left to round up your troops to guard the area."

"Sir!" Donovan turns his head to his back and looks up to one of his fellow Alimons from his surveillance unit he established around the area. "We have searched around this area twice and we cannot find any trace of Darkarians. The area is safe!"

Donovan nods. "Understood." He turns his head to Tanner. "Now, I'm off to report this to Stone, he'll know what to do next. As for you, you are free to do as you please with of course the usual restrictions until further notice."

Tanner nods in understanding. "Of course."

"Dismissed."

Donovan and Tanner went their separate ways after that. Donovan to give his report to Stone while Tanner walks around the outside before getting into the caverns he calls home. As he walks he thinks about the Darkarians, cursing them for betraying the Ancient Laws and hunting down the innocent dinosaurs from the Great Valley for their sick pleasure. He wishes he could get them all and teach them a lesson, tear them apart and give them a taste of their own medicine.

He turns a left in the caverns' tunnels as he continues his train of thoughts, going back to that certain point an hour ago. When he had that Darkarian in his grasp he felt like crushing his head in, to decimate the Darkarian's face and tear him apart. As much as he wanted to he knew he couldn't, his pack could use any information they can get about the Darkarians and any Darkarian they can capture must do. Unfortunately this Alimon died before they could get anything out of him, and before he could get his paws on him.

He blinks and comes to a stop as he breaks out of his trance, finding himself standing close to the cave where the gang and Zitro are being treated for their injuries.

Inside Chelsey is struggling to keep a certain Sickleclaw calm as Blueface tries to treat the cut on his muzzle and side. Rex, Chomper and Terrel are standing by Kacie watching at this rather comical attempt at getting the Fast Biter calm while suffering pain, quite amusing might they add.

"Argh! Stop it! Don't touch that! It's fine! Ow ow!" Yu complains as he struggles to keep the Alimon away from even touching the wounds.

"Oh grow up you big hatchling!" Chelsey teases as she struggles with the Sickleclaw to hold still. "Trust me, after this you're going to thank her. Blueface is a genius with coming up with the best for your injuries!"

Blueface chuckles as she tries to apply some leaf toxins on Yu's cuts before pressing a leaf over them. "Oh I wouldn't say a genius."

"Agh! And I would thank her if she would-Aaaaaahh!!" Yu suddenly screamed at the application of the toxins to his cut on his side.

"Heheheheh…" Rex chuckled, a bit embarrassed with Yu's attitude. "Just sit still and it won't hurt as much."

Kacie giggles and turns her head to little Terrel. "Is he always this afraid of having his injuries mended?"

"Only when it's going to hurt." Terrel replies with a giggle.

"Then I take that's always." Kacie giggles again after hearing Yu yell in pain again. She turns her head to the right to see Zitro, the black Alimon that was also caught in the fight and the most wounded of them all. He lies in a corner thumping his claws on the ground watching at the nurses in silence as they mend the trio's injuries. He insisted the nurses to treat the three of them first and leave him 'till last, his wounds are still untreated but at least they stopped bleeding.

Not one to leave a patient untreated she walks over to him. "Your turn, Zitro."

Zitro stopped thumping his claws and moves his eyes to Kacie. "I'm fine Kacie, the three of them need your help more than I do."

Kacie rolls her eyes with a slight smile, usual answer from him. "They're fine; you need more healing than they do anyway."

Zitro slowly sits up, wincing a bit from his wounds as he does so. "Knowing you, you won't leave me alone until you do so might as well." As he braced himself for toxins and other herbs to be placed on his wounds he was rather surprised and taken back when Kacie started licking his face. He instinctively pulled his face back, blinking a few times. "What are you…?"

"What?" Kacie simply stated as she arched an eyebrow at him. "You can't treat a wound with all that blood in the way, now can you?"

Zitro kept his stare at Kacie, and if it wasn't for the remaining blood on his face everyone would notice that he was blushing. He sighs and gives in, allowing Kacie to continue licking his face from the blood, wincing as she licks the wounds on his forehead.

"You really got injured there, Zitro…" Kacie comments after finishing in cleaning his face before going for the items to treat his wounds. "You really gave me a scare when you got dragged in here looking like you did."

Noticing the tone of concern in her voice the black Alimon's heart softens and aches. He lowers his eyes to the ground along with his head. "I'm sorry…I guess I bit off more than I could chew when I tried to attack the Dracovol…"

Kacie dragged back with her a huge leaf with some other leaves on top of it, some herbs and leaf toxins on it to heal the wounds. "A Dracovol? I thought none of them came here other than Phantom."

Zitro shakes his head. "True, but I don't know why this one would come here." He pauses as he winces a bit and growls lowly as some healing toxins were applied to his wounds. "Nnngh…But my guess is that this Dracovol is in alliance with the Darkarians."

Kacie whimpers a bit, that doesn't sound good at all, that's horrible news if Dracovols are in alliance with the Darkarians. With that kind of extra power, the Darkarians might just win this time. She pauses her treatment to Zitro as the memories of her scar come back to her; that horrible Darkarian attack when she was just an adolescent…

"Kacie?" Zitro inquires as he notices his friend's saddened expression. "Hey, it's going to be OK. Just by having a Dracovol on their side doesn't mean anything, they're still going down. I promise."

Kacie smiles a bit, while they shouldn't underestimate the Darkarians she knows they've been through tighter spots before and prevailed thanks to the close relations the Rock Rangers have. She continues mending Zitro's wounds while speaking, her voice low and caring. "I just don't want to see you get hurt, especially with a Dracovol against us like this…"

Zitro now feels awful. While he respects Kacie's desires, he knows he cannot keep his word about that. As a General-in-training, it's his destiny to fight for the good of the pack and to take the role as General after his training is complete and when Donovan retires. "Kacie…I promise you this…I'll survive anything they throw at me…"

"You promise, huh?" Kacie giggles. "You know keeping promises isn't one of your strong points."

Zitro chuckles and smirks. "This is a promise I intend to keep."

Kacie looks into Zitro's eyes after mending the wound on his forehead. She smiles warmly and gives him a lick. "Come back safely."

Zitro smiles and nuzzles her. "Promise."

They both part and turn to the side only to find Rex, Chomper, Yu, Terrel, Tanner and Chelsey looking at them, some of them with a grin while other just stared with that mischievous look. Both of them blush as they turn their heads away from the crowd, and it was Zitro that spoke out to them. "What are you guys staring at?! And when did you get here, Tanner?!"

Tanner couldn't help but chuckle. "Not too long ago, just enough to see what these guys were looking at."

"It's just so cute and dreamy…" Chelsey comments in a dreamy manner.

Rex, Chomper, Yu and Terrel look at each other and begin to chuckle, getting a bit of a kick from Chelsey's comment. After this it's painfully obvious those two like each other and it seems kind of pointless to deny it. Zitro scoffs the chuckles away and turns to Tanner. "So have you found anything up there?"

Tanner shakes his head. "Nah, nothing. Apparently it was just those two around the area, we haven't found anything related to the Darkarians."

"Hmph, figures." Zitro comments as he thinks. "The Darkarians may be fast to act, but they sure know how to be careful with their plans. They leave nothing behind."

Tanner nods. As much as he hates to admit it, the Darkarians are pretty tactical as they are ruthless. He looks at Zitro with a glare, intending on doing something about the Darkarians. "So what should we do next? With a Dracovol on their side we cannot afford them to gain any extra paws to help them!"

Zitro shakes his head. "For now I don't think we should risk doing a thing until we learn more. They have one Dracovol on their side, but what's telling us there couldn't be any more of them helping them?"

Tanner growls silently. He's right, there's no evidence claiming he's the only one helping the Darkarians. Rex couldn't help but lower his head in sadness; the thought of his own species helping the bad guys like this is crushing his heart. Chomper and Yu notice the look of anguish in Rex's face and they look at each other, wishing they had a way to cheer him up.

Just when it seemed silence was going to blanket them a roar echoes through the cavern system. Tanner, Zitro and the girls throw their heads up hearing the roar, leaving the gang out of the loop; they don't yet understand what they are saying in these roars.

"Hm, interesting." Zitro comments.

"What? What is it?" Rex asks.

After hearing the roars Kacie turns her head to the gang. "Apparently Stone wants to talk to you, Rex."

Rex blinks and gulps. "Uhhh..Me?"

"And it sounds important." Tanner informs them. "Come with me, I'll take you to him."

The gang looks at each other before following Tanner. What does Stone want with them? The question plagues their mind as they follow Tanner to the main chamber of the caverns, where at the altar-like ledge stands Stone discussing something with Donovan. The black and blue Alimon nods at Stone and turns his head to the approaching group before Stone turns, smiling upon seeing them again.

"Ah, welcome back, friends." He looks at each one before continuing. "You three are looking livelier today."

The three of them look at their mended wounds before looking back up at Stone. "Uhhh heheh, I guess so." Rex replies with a shrug.

Stone chuckles. "Now, about why we called you here." He gets up and walks to the edge of the ledge, looking down at them before jumping down to their level. "As I was told, you three came face to face with two Darkarians today, fought and defeated one of them and also engaged their Dracovol ally."

The three of them look at each other before nodding at the Alimon leader. "Yeeeaaah, but what about it?" Yu adds.

Stone chuckles at the Sickleclaw's innocence. "My boy, this is the first time we have become face to face with such a problem as our enemy having a creature such as a Dracovol in their aid before. And, honestly, I'd be lying if I say it doesn't worry me."

Rex crosses his arms as he remembers the Dracovol all too well, how he took down Zitro, Chomper, Yu and himself rather easily, also how the Dracovol confused him by stating how he knows him and, above all else, how he called him 'son'. He shakes off the thought though, since it's rather common for anyone to call anyone 'son' and not mean it literally, he's had experience with that with Yu's pack with some of their members.

"Phantom left last night and I won't be expecting him back for a few more Bright Circles now," Phantom continues as he walks to the left. "And this dire news is something of sheer importance; we must know anything that we can to stay one paw ahead of the Darkarians." He stops and lifts his head up to the cavern ceiling where there's a hole in the ceiling, illuminating the cavern. "As you recall our pack holds an agreement with the Dracovol pack residing in Crescent Valley, and between the both of us we exchange information about the Darkarians, any information of sheer importance."

"I get it, so Phantom helps you in trading this information." Chomper sums it up after hearing this. "He helps in watching the areas around the Great Valley and reports back to you and he goes back and forth with information between here and the Crescent Valley."

"Exactly." Stone confirms as he turns his head to the gang with a smile.

"Not to sound rude or anything," Rex comments as he looks at Stone with an arched eyebrow. "But how does telling this to us help?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Stone asks with a curious smirk. "This information needs to be sent to the Crescent Valley, I'm sure the pack leader there would be happy to lend us a hand." He closes his eyes with a smirk and jumps up to the higher ledge he was standing on. "And you three are going."

This sudden news surprises them. Heck, even Tanner is surprised.

"WHAT?!" All four of them, including Tanner, cry out at once.

With a hearty laugh Stone turns to the gang. He suddenly gets serious, looking at each of them in the eye. "Rex, Chomper, Yu. I'm entrusting you with absolutely important information in your paws. Can I trust the lot of you to deliver it to Crescent Valley?"

The three of them stare in awe. Stone actually trusts them with such an important task? To once again cross the Mysterious Beyond, go up against dangerous Sharpteeth and avoid perilous dangers strewn around the environment. And that's not all; Rex could finally get a chance to reach a place where he can find even more creatures from his same species. Finally, he can be with others his own kind even if just for a while. Rex started to beam from the idea, and after exchanging glances with Chomper and Yu, they all turn to Stone and nod at the same time, accepting the challenge.

"Um, with all due respect, sir." Tanner speaks out as he walks over to Stone's side. "Do you believe it's a good idea to hand such a task to them? Not that I doubt them or anything but the journey to Crescent Valley is long and tedious, not to mention dangerous."

Stone nods. "Both Donovan and I are well aware of the dangers. That's why you're going along with them."

"What?"

"According to the reports these three were the ones that killed the Darkarian, correct?"

"Well yeah but-"

"When a Darkarian falls in the paws of a dinosaur that's not a Rock Ranger they tend to be hunted down by their Assassins. You are assigned to aid them, protect them, and lead them to the valley."

Tanner opens his mouth to speak, but ultimately he shuts his muzzle and nods. With that settled, Stone turns his head to Donovan. "Donovan, I entrust you to tell them whatever it is that they must know for this mission."

Donovan nods and walks over to the edge of the altar-like ledge, looking down at them with his usual glare, looking at them like just members of his army. "Listen up, you three!" The commanding voice actually made the three of them stand straight like soldiers, their eyes set on Donovan. "Now, don't expect this to be easy! The Mysterious Beyond is a huge and dangerous place, one wrong move and you can kiss your tail goodbye!"

He jumps down and starts to pace back and forth in front of them. "Now, to find the Crescent Valley you have to travel south. You'll no doubt go past Threehorn Peak during your travel and then you must cross a volcano region, one false move there and you'll be set on fire by the flowing fire. You then must cross a desert and you'll then find yourselves in an area with a lot of green food, you'll then find Crescent Valley not far from there." Donovan stops and looks at each other in the eye. "This journey will probably last you about four Bright Circles, so I trust you three will be very prepared! I will not accept failure on this!"

Yu flinches a bit from that. He slowly turns his head to Donovan, "Gee, aren't you being a bit rough?"

Donovan snorts and presses his snout against Yu's, glaring him right in the eye. "You may not be from my pack, but you get no special treatment compared to my members of the pack! Is that clear?!"

Yu gulps. "C-C-Crystal…"

"Good!" Donovan backs up and looks at all three of them. "Now, you will most likely encounter numerous Sharpteeth. Little ones, big ones, fast ones, slow ones. Your goal is to get to Crescent Valley alive and deliver the information! I do not expect you to fight! Hunt if you must for food, but try to stay alive!" Donovan suddenly remembers something and growls. "In addition to that, since you killed a Darkarian they will most likely hunt for you if they spot you, so stay away from any Sharpteeth you might see from afar off and be prepared for any ambushes!"

The three of them gulp. Just because they killed one Dakarian all of them are going to be after them? That's…Quite a burden.

"Am I clear? Do you understand?"

The gang take a while absorbing all of this information, but in the end they look at Donovan and nod. This makes Donovan narrow his eyes and shed a bit of a smile. "Perfect. You are to leave immediately, and only you three are allowed to go, so prepare your goodbyes to your pack and prepare yourselves to head out!"

Stone nods. "The Rock Rangers trust you three with this task, we pray for your safety and success."

Rex looks at Chomper and Yu and nods. "Leave it to us, Stone! We'll make it!" We a smile he turns to his friends. "So, you two are up for one last adventure?"

"Just like the old days!" Chomper grins as he pumps his arms. "I'm so ready for this!"

Yu couldn't help but nod with a smile. "Yeah! Let's do this!"

A perilous adventure is ahead of them, but if they stick together they'll be fine. With a new ally journeying with them, things are sure to get unpredictable. A journey to Crescent Valley, one more adventure through the Mysterious Beyond, but the question is…Will they succeed? With an Alimon of their own to aid them, it would seem certain.

But, what are the Darkarians really planning? Getting Dracovols involved to take over the Great Valley by destroying the Rock Rangers seem a bit much…

"_Just hang in there, guys."_ Rex thought to himself, thinking about his friends back in the Great Valley. _"Just give me a bit more time, I'll be home soon."_


	10. The adventure starts, Threehorn Region

The early morning had come and gone. With a new adventure at their paws the gang stands at the top of a hill not too far from the pack. They discussed things with Judah, and after a while of the most uncomfortable conversation of their life they finally got the leader of the Toviel pack to agree and allow them to be off to carry on this journey. Nervous and excited, the three Sharpteeth look out at the horizon from the top of their hill, ready to take on this long and perilous journey and once again view the many wonders the Mysterious Beyond holds.

"So, are you guys ready?" Tanner inquires as he walks up the hill to join the three dinosaurs.

Rex couldn't help but smirk. "I'm ready. Let's go!"

Yu smiles with confidence. "You know me; I'm with you all the way!"

Chomper nods. "I'm ready! Let's do it!"

Tanner nods in agreement. "All right then. Like Donovan said, south and straight on past Threehorn Peak, cross a volcano region and through the desert."

The three of them nod and off they go. Off to another adventure to Crescent Valley, where Leaf-Eaters and Dracovols are said to live together in harmony. As they ventured off down the hill and disappearing from the pack's view little Terrel watches as his cousin leaves with his friends. In a way he envies him, always going off on his own to many adventures, having a lot of privileges most teens wish they'd have.

"_Can I go with you guys?" _Terrel recalls the argument he had with Yu after walking out of the Rock Ranger's territory.

"_You can't, Terrel. It's just too dangerous."_

"_You always say the same thing! Why can't I go with you? It's not like it's going to be any different than traveling with the whole pack."_

"_It is different, Terrel! There are less of us to protect you and more of a chance we get outnumbered!"_

"_That doesn't stop you from going!"_

"_That's different, Terrel! I'm bigger than you, faster than you and stronger than you! I can hold my own while you can get easily chomped up in one bite! I'm sorry but the answer is no, no, no and no!"_

Terrel shakes his head with a growl, so what if he's little, there's a bunch of stuff a little guy can do that a big guy can't. "I'll show you…"

Meanwhile the four travelers are going along their way south to Crescent Valley; Rex walking alongside Tanner while Chomper and Yu followed them a few steps behind them, the both of them in their own little world humming some tunes and jingles. Hey, dinosaurs have rhythm too.

"So…" Rex begins; his eyes at Tanner. "Tanner, have you ever been to this Crescent Valley?"

Tanner shakes his head. "I've never been to the valley, but I've heard much about it from Phantom."

Rex looks down at Tanner. "So what's the valley like? You know, according to him."

Tanner blinks and thinks back, recalling those colorful descriptions given to them by Phantom. "Well, the way he describes it; it sounds just as wonderful as the Great Valley." He looks forward to see where he's going as he continues. "Lots of green food as far as the eye can see, clean and sweet water, lots of trees and caves, just as good as the Great Valley."

Rex looks up at the sky as he listens to the descriptions; another valley as good as the Great Valley? Impossible he thought at first, the Great Valley is a utopia all dinosaurs know. To think there's another valley as good as his home and never heard of it before, it sounds like a legend lost in the vast corners of the Mysterious Beyond, destined to be lost from everyone who has not found it and heard of it be fore.

Rex recalls how they told him it's one of the many areas Dracovols gather, and a question came into his mind. "Hey Tanner, you think my parents are there?"

Tanner took his time to answer. That's a good question. Rex never met his real parents, much less heard of anyone of his kind. It's a sure sign that he'll meet other Dracovols in Crescent Valley, but it's totally unknown if he'll also find his parents there. After all, they couldn't just up and leave and leave his egg behind, right?

"Hm, hard to say." Tanner finally responds. "Dracovols do live in Crescent Valley, but I don't know if they stay or move along after a while. Just, well, don't put all of your eggs in one nest."

Rex nods with a bit of a sigh. He's right though, he really shouldn't get his hopes up that he'll find his actual parents in one area. Rex slowly came to a stop, the truth kind of hitting him hard. Chomper suddenly bumps into Rex, breaking the Dracovol out of his state from the bump. Almost in a quick succession Yu also bumps into them, all three of them falling onto the ground in a dog pile.

"Agh!" Rex yelps as he's crushed under the Fast Biter and the Sharptooth.

Stopping in his tracks upon hearing the yelp, Tanner turns to face the dog pile with Rex under it all. Arching an eyebrow Tanner shakes his head with a slight smirk as if trying to keep himself from laughing. "Taking a break already? You guys get tired quickly."

Rex gave a rather embarrassing grin. Chomper and Yu both got off of Rex, letting the young Dracovol to stand up again. Not exactly smart to space out like that when they're all on the move. Chomper and Yu are both a bit puzzled as to why they bumped into Rex, what made him stop?

"Is everything OK, Rex?" Yu inquires, knowing his sudden stop was out of place.

Rex rubs his head and gives a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Yu looks over at Chomper who in turns gives a mere shrug. As the two of them continue walking forward Rex stays behind watching them, looking out over the horizon. Green plains and trees here and there as far as the eye can see. From where he's standing he can see Threehorn Peak far off into the distance. Rex recalls how Littlefoot and the others have told him about their journey there, certainly no cakewalk to get there. Between it and the Great Valley it's a long and dangerous walk. He remembers how they told him how a stone burning with cold fire crashed into the mountain, believing it has some kind of special power from what two Rainbow Faces have told them; and how Petrie's uncle, Pterano, a power-hungry Flyer, plotted to get to it to acquire its power, kidnapping Ducky in the process for eavesdropping and finding out about their plans.

Rex gives a deep sigh, feeling homesick again. Just a few moments ago he was nearly footsteps away from his home, and now he's once again walking away from it to Crescent Valley. As excited as he is to get to a home of Dracovols, he can't help but feel hesitation on going, wanting to go back home. The young Dracovol sank his face into his paws, overwhelmed at what he just got himself into. The possibility of the Darkarians hunting him down for killing one of their own, possibly not getting back home again; the life of an adventurer he guesses.

"Hey!" A voice cries out, snapping the Dracovol out of his state. He lifts his head to already see his friends already far off, nearly inaudible from how far they've gotten. "Getting cold feet already?!" The Alimon Tanner shouts at him. "Let's go!"

Rex, upon seeing his friends, couldn't help but feel more confident. He knew he was in good and loving paws and they have his back no matter what. He _will_ see home again.

He sheds a smile and rubs his nose. Right, can't keep them waiting. He starts running to catch up to them, it might be a long and dangerous journey, but with his friends by his side there's nothing that can take them down. With the Bright Circle shining down on them and illuminating their way their path is visible and clear. It is indeed a beautiful day, one of those days where children run and laugh playing with their friends and just enjoying the beauty of nature.

In fact, it was just a beautiful and upbeat day that a song came into the gang's heart. Slowly one by one the gang, excluding Tanner, started humming merrily. The tune was catchy, and by some convenient reason the three of them knew it all. They were getting too into it that the humming got louder until those hums became into words, and the three of them suddenly broke out with a song.

"_With the sun shining bright,"_

"_Lighting the path we take."_

"_With our light shining bright,"_

"_We will shine!"_

After a brief pause Yu continued with the song.

"_With our friends by our side,"_

"_There is nothing we will fear."_

"_Together we stand tall."_

"_Together we're strong!"_

Rex continues from where Yu left off.

"_It doesn't matter what we face."_

"_Together we prevail."_

"_In this long and hazardous road."_

Rex, Chomper and Yu continued together.

"_We'll never fall to anything that we face."_

"_I'll beat through all the odds."_

Rex adds to the song.

Chomper continues with a grin as he playfully bumps Rex.

"_If you're always there with me."_

The three friends continue as they reach to the end of the song.

"_With the sun shining bright,"_

"_Lighting the path we take."_

"_With our light shining bright,"_

"_We will shine!"_

"_With our friends by our side,"_

"_There is nothing we will fear!"_

"_With our hearts shining bright,"_

"_We'll always pull through!"_

As they finished the song the three of them couldn't help but break into a laughing fit, stopping in their tracks as they each laugh their hearts out. Tanner couldn't help but roll his eyes; it was quite uncalled for for the three of them to suddenly turn their hums to an actual song. But on the other paw, he'd be lying if he said he didn't found the lyrics and the tune catchy. Upon looking ahead Tanner stops his walk and turns his head to the laughing trio. "Hey, if you three are finished with your little number, check this out."

The three of them slowly stop their laughing and head over to Tanner, the three of them amazed upon seeing Threehorn Peak extremely close. They must've killed a lot of time and walked a good distance with their little song, they lost track of how long they were walking.

"Threehorn Peak…" Rex points out, looking at the rocky terrain.

"One of the four areas we'll be crossing during our journey." Tanner narrates. "Not too hard to cross, but a lot of dangerous areas. But, if we stick to going around the peak and on firm ground we should be fine."

Rex and Yu nod at Tanner's suggestion, they want to go through the safest road possible to save some time and skin. Chomper blinks and looks behind him upon hearing something, it sounded like something rolling downhill. Pebbles maybe? Chomper sniffs the air just to make sure, but catches no scent other than his friend's.

Yu, who heard Chomper sniffing the air, looks at him. "Something wrong?"

Chomper, after giving the air another second sniff, shrugs and turns his head to Yu. "I thought I heard something."

"It's probably just the unstable rocks." Tanner explains as he walks toward the peak. "Lots of stuff happens here, so there are always rocks and pebbles falling around."

Chomper doubted this though, there wasn't any earth shakes that he felt that could've moved anything near them. Chomper shook it off though; if someone was there he would've caught his scent. The three of them follow Tanner into the canyon of Threehorn Peak. Like Tanner said, this is one out of four areas they're gonna have to cross through to get to Crescent Valley.

* * *

"What?!" Mr. Threehorn bellowed, unable to believe what he's hearing.

"I'm telling the truth!" Littlefoot has tried to tell to his grandparents and to Mr. Threehorn about the Sharptooth he spotted. "I saw the Sharptooth that killed the Spiketail! It was short and kind of looked like a Longneck, but-but it could talk and it was very fast!"

Littlefoot's claims didn't seem to make any sense. First off Sharpteeth are simple-minded killers who act on instincts. They're not very smart to begin with, let alone have the ability to speak. But Littlefoot saying the Sharptooth looked like a Longneck takes the cake.

Mr. Threehorn steps closer to the little one, having a horrible time believing this. "Now listen here, Longneck. There's no such thing as a Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck! And as for it being able to talk? Hah! I'll believe it when I see it!"

"But the Sharptooth did speak!" Littlefoot repeated himself, frustrated that no one seems to believe him.

"Now, Littlefoot, settle down." His grandfather steps in. He lowers his head to his grandson and gives him a slight nuzzle before turning to Mr. Threehorn. "If Littlefoot did indeed witness a Sharptooth with these characteristics, then there's a huge danger here especially to the children."

Mr. Threehorn couldn't help but snort at the huge Longneck. "I repeat myself, Longneck. There is no, and I mean _no _such thing as a Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck! Your grandson here must've been delusional when he saw the Sharptooth!"

"I sincerely doubt that, Mr. Threehorn." Littlefoot's grandpa stated, defending his grandson's claim. "I believe in what Littlefoot says it's true. After all, there are many things we have yet to discover in this vast world of ours."

"Oh please!" Mr. Threehorn exclaims. "Have you already forgotten our last journey out into the Mysterious Beyond?! There is nothing left to be discovered out there other than dirt, dirt and more dirt! The idea of a Sharptooth looking like a Longneck is simply ridiculous!"

Littlefoot's grandpa narrows his eyes a bit. Mr. Threehorn has always been this close-minded and persistent. If anything, he wasn't going to let anyone trample all over his beliefs, which he makes it a habit of everyone knowing it and pushing it as complete facts. This sometimes aggravates other dinosaurs, but it's something they all have gotten used to.

Still, Littlefoot's grandfather isn't convinced of how they have already seen what there is to see. "Must you always be so stubborn? How quickly you forget our ancestors' story about the A-"

"Poppycock!" Mr. Threehorn suddenly blurts out, interrupting the Longneck. "That story was, is and always will be just a legend! There is no such thing!"

Legend? Littlefoot is now curious about this 'legend.' Littlefoot has always been a curious Longneck, always willing to learn new things and stories. He remembers how much he enjoyed hearing time and time again the legend of the Lone Dinosaur.

"Now, all of that nonsense aside. This has confirmed the Sharptooth is still in the valley! Call everyone for a meeting when the Bright Circle is exactly over Saurus Rock at this exact spot! I'm going to get to the bottom of this and get that Sharptooth out of here!" With that the intimidating Threehorn turns and leaves, but before doing so he looks over his shoulder. "Cera, I want you within my sights. Got it?"

Cera, who was standing with the others a bit away from the two grownups, winces from the order. "I will, dad." She confirms with a nod before rolling her eyes and mutters under her breath. "Great…" This is going to put a damper on her day.

As the argument came to a close Littlefoot is looking up at the sky pondering about this legend Mr. Threehorn mentioned. A story from their ancestors…It must be a story thousands of Bright Circles old! Apparently this legend has something to do with the Sharptooth he encountered for his grandfather to bring it up just like that. Curious about it, Littlefoot turns to his grandfather and makes a dash toward him. "Hey grandpa, about that story about our ancestors, what is it about?"

Littlefoot's grandfather couldn't help but chuckle. Littlefoot has always been one fascinated by stories of all kind. "Oh it's just an old story; I don't believe you children would want to hear it."

"Oh, we would love to hear it, grandpa!" Littlefoot runs toward his friends. "Right?"

Ducky, who's riding on Spike's back, nods with a smile, very eager to hear the story. "Oh yes! We would like to hear it! We would! We would!" She looks down at her brother. "Wouldn't we, Spike?"

Spike smiles and gives a nod with a hum. "Spike would!" He suddenly speaks of what little words he knows and is able to speak.

"Me would like to hear story!" Petrie confesses as he flies and hovers alongside Littlefoot. Cera just shrugs and sits down, "I guess."

Littlefoot's grandfather chuckles, he'd expected much. "All right, little ones. I guess it wouldn't hurt." The gang of five eagerly sits in front of Littlefoot's grandfather, ready to listen to a story as old as time itself. A story from the ancestors, what exactly could it be about? Littlefoot has a suspicion it has something to do with the Sharptooth he saw if it was brought up in an argument based on it.

Littlefoot's grandfather sits down, ready to tell the story. "Well, you see children, a long time ago there were other dinosaurs living here in the Great Valley. Remember?" He sees everyone nodding their heads, they don't miss a beat. "Well, this legend is about the walls of the Great Valley. For you see, there's a secret hidden in the walls."

A secret hidden in the walls? That's a pretty curious statement. The gang is instantly sucked into the story, curious about what this secret in the walls could be. Littlefoot's grandfather continues with the story. "'If those walls could speak', a statement a fellow Longneck said when he told me the story. For you see, deep in the valley walls lays a series of tunnels, leading in and out of the valley."

"Wow!" Littlefoot exclaims in awe. "Tunnels leading in and out of the valley? Just like that?"

His grandfather nods. "Yes, Littlefoot. That's what the story says."

Upon hearing this Cera just had to stand up and speak her mind. "Wait a minute, if all of that is true then why haven't we seen those tunnels? Better yet, why haven't other Sharpteeth used those tunnels to get in here?"

"That's where I'm getting at, little one." Littlefoot's grandfather comments. "The story isn't about the tunnels, but what lives inside them." The gang listen attentively, what kind of dinosaur would live in there? This kind of reminds the gang about the Tinysauruses who used to live in underground tunnels under the valley before two Fast Biters invaded the tunnels and had to be sealed off. However, they were allowed to live in the Great Valley, replacing their sealed off underground homes. "It is not clear what exactly lives in them, but many have seen the creature. What's curious is that this peculiar dinosaur looks like a Longneck."

Littlefoot gasps. A dinosaur that looks like a Longneck? That's it, he thought, that's the dinosaur he saw! It must've been! The rest of the gang look at each other before turning their heads to Littlefoot, maybe what he had been saying of a Sharptooth looking like a Longneck is all true.

"So…" Cera starts as she gets up on all four. "Do they know what kind of dinosaur it is if it's not a Longneck?"

Littlefoot's grandfather shakes his head. "No one is sure what it is, but many believe these creatures are the ones protecting the tunnels from any Sharpteeth that try to use them to come inside the valley. There are rumors that these creatures are often seen after a Sharptooth scare, and just like that the Sharptooth that started the scare disappears." Littlefoot's grandfather slowly gets up on all fours, ready to take his leave. "But it is all just a story. I do not doubt these creatures exist, but I don't truly believe in these tunnels either. Like you said Cera, otherwise a number of Sharpteeth would've already gotten into the valley." He looks down at his grandson before continuing. "And I also have no doubt what you saw was one of them; a Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck, yet it is not."

Quite an interesting discovery, Littlefoot thought, a Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck, making it easy to fool some Leaf Eaters before going in for the kill. Despite the curious find this just makes the situation in the Great Valley all the more dangerous. They can't allow having such a terrible advantage in the Sharptooth's court; this would terribly destroy the trust toward any Longneck in the valley. Well, the children Longneck to be exact.

Ducky, who's scared about the possibility of this being real, huddles down against Spike's neck and embraces it in a light hug. "Oh dear, I do not think I like having a Sharptooth that looks like a Longneck, no no no…"

"Me say!" Petrie agrees as he hovers close to her and Spike. He then gets a scary thought and lands on the ground, huddling close to Spike and looking up at Ducky with widen eyes. "What if Petrie see Sharptooth and think it Littlefoot? What if Petrie get too close and Sharptooth see me and chase me? Petrie be eaten for sure!" His fear was growing so rapidly his beak began to chatter as he started to tremble.

Cera slowly shakes her head. "Aw don't worry so much about it, Petrie." She slowly gets up from lying on her stomach and looks at both Ducky and Petrie with a heroic grin. "Just stick close to me and if that Sharptooth shows up I'll teach it not to enter our valley for an easy snack!"

"Yeah, just be sure _you _don't end up as its snack." Littlefoot couldn't help but tease.

"Hey!" Cera remarks, sounding a bit insulted. "I'll have you know I once stood up to a full-grown Fast Biter all by myself!"

Littlefoot chuckled. "Really? I could've sworn Petrie told me you did that with Chomper's help."

Cera frowns. So that Flyer told him the rest of the story. She slowly moves her glaring eyes to Petrie; the Flyer in return gave a nervous grin before suddenly taking a dive behind Spike's bulky tail, hiding away from Cera's view. The full story was that they needed a plan to get the Fast Biter away from them, and with Chomper's help they managed to keep the Fast Biter at bay while Rex and Petrie used vines to help trip the Fast Biter down so they could've escaped. Their plan backfired, but either way it all ended up at their favor.

Feeling that he has lost the children's attention, Littlefoot's grandpa cleared his throat, the rough sound getting back the gang of five's attention. "In all seriousness children, this is a very troublesome dilemma. You must all be on alert and keep away from anything suspicious. I do not want to limit your distance from us any more than what it is now but I'm afraid I'll have no choice if this gets any worse than it is now. Am I making myself clear?" The whole gang nods respectfully, putting the old Longneck's heart at ease. "Good. Run along now, best to enjoy the day while the Bright Circle is still up."

With a smile the gang stand up and take their leave as Littlefoot's grandpa take his own leave as well. Out of all of them, Littlefoot was the more intrigued about this unique Sharptooth. Looking like a Longneck, yet it has claws and teeth, ready to spring and attack for its food. Thinking back to his close encounter, he really did confuse it for a Longneck from afar, but up close the difference was painfully apparent. It's a shame though that when you noticed the difference from that up close it's already too late.

"Littlefoot! What's the hold up?!"

Littlefoot came out of his thoughtful stance, realizing he stopped moving all together. He looks around and gives an embarrassing grin to his friends as they all come back to him. "Let me guess," Cera remarks as she has a thought as to why Littlefoot stopped. "You're thinking about this Longneck Sharptooth, aren't you?"

Figured out already, Littlefoot nods. "I just can't help but think about those Longneck Biters, something about them caught my attention."

"Longneck Biters?" Cera echoes. Did Littlefoot just gave these Longneck Sharpteeth a name? The gang looks at each other before turning their heads back to Littlefoot, which Cera couldn't help but give a little smirk at him. "Nice name." She remarked sarcastically.

"What about them that has caught your attention, Littlefoot?" Ducky curiously remarks.

Littlefoot thinks back to that moment yesterday when he was cornered by the Longneck Biter, when he was about to be eaten alive by the fierce hunter. But when he was about to be devoured, another Longneck Biter came out of the blue and saved his life from the attacker. He especially recalls what the Longneck Biter that attacked him said…

"Well…" Littlefoot pauses, looks around and closes in the distance between him and his friends. "I could've been easily killed by that Longneck Biter, but…Well, another Longneck Biter showed up."

The gang gasps upon hearing this. Cera growls in annoyance, "Oh great, there's _another _Longneck Biter in the valley?!"

Ducky shakes her head while covering her eyes. "Not another one, no no no. This has jut gotten from worse to worserer."

"But then the strangest thing happened," Littlefoot continues, getting everyone's attention back. "The second Longneck Biter didn't even try to eat me. It just stood in front of me and protected me from the one that wanted to eat me."

The gang heard it, but they're having trouble believing it. A Sharptooth protecting a Leaf Eater from another one of its own kind? Such a thing is unheard of when it means to protect and let the Leaf Eater live. Usually when this happens it's just to steal the kill.

"But then," Littlefoot resumes. "Just before the Longneck Biter that attacked me ran off, he said something about protectors."

Cera arches an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Protectors? Are you trying to tell us that the Longneck Biter that chased the other one off is one of these Protectors?"

Littlefoot nods without giving it a second thought. "It has to be. I mean, yeah it didn't made much sense to me either, but then after hearing Grandpa's story, it all comes together now!" The young Longneck throws his head up to the heavens toward the mountains, recalling the story his grandfather has told them. "Protectors of the valley, the Longneck Biters. Just like what Grandpa said!" With excitement settling in his body he turns his head back to his friends with a smile. "The stories are true! It-It must be!"

Cera however tends to disagree with her Longneck friend's claims. "Yeah, except a Longneck Biter tried to eat you in the first place! Sure, one Longneck Biter saved your life, but how can you be so sure the others are the same? Just because you saw two of them doesn't mean the Great Valley's mountains have tunnels in them and they're crawling with these Sharptooth."

"Cera have point, Littlefoot." Petrie comments as he flies around Littlefoot's head before hovering in front of his face. "Just two Longneck Biters in valley don't mean more of them in Great Valley walls."

Littlefoot was cornered. They're right, just because he saw two Longneck Biters it doesn't mean there are more of them in these supposed tunnels, right? Littlefoot mentally shook his head, no, that can't be so. Otherwise he would've found their trails all over the place. He recalls how he saw their trails and suddenly stop in front of rocks and boulders close to the valley walls. If that doesn't indicate they've climbed up the walls and into some kind of cavern, he would have to come to a conclusion that they could somehow fly. There's only one sure fire way to figure this mystery out…

"There's only one way to figure this out," Littlefoot began, and immediately the gang knew what he means.

Another adventure was about to unfold…

* * *

"There it is again!"

**Threehorn Peak**

Rex sighs as he rolls his head for the fifth time since they've gotten into the Threehorn Peak region. Chomper has been rather paranoid about sounds he's been hearing since they've gotten into this place, pointing out every thud and rock tumbles they hear. He insists someone is following them, but everyone just insists that it's just his imagination. Besides, it's a mountain region with rumbles and little earthshakes here and there, do they really need a paranoid Sharptooth to point out every single sound they hear?

Chomper suddenly whirls around upon hearing another sound, ready to chirp something about it until Yu had it up to here with his paranoia and swirls around, bumping Chomper with his snout and growling menacingly. "Will you please stop it with your paranoia?! You're driving us insane!"

"Thank you!" Tanner shouts as he's a bit far ahead in the lead, managing to hear Yu snapping, apparently also tired of tolerating Chomper's paranoid behavior.

Chomper shakes his head rapidly. "I'm not doing this on purpose!" He faces toward where he heard the sound and backs off, his head low in case what's following them springs out to attack. "I'm telling you something's following us! Can't you smell it?!"

Rex shakes his head yet again; he ponders how his head hasn't fallen off yet from how much he has done this in the last two hours. He lifts his head and sniffs the air and smells nothing other than smoke, dirt, and smelly creepy crawlies. "No offense Chomper but other than ordinary things I can't smell anything else."

"That's because your sniffer isn't as sharp as mine." Chomper remarks to which Rex shoots a glare at him in return, a bit offended by the remark. "I can smell things you probably can't, which is why you can't sniff out another thing moving along with us."

"Are you sure you're not sniffing Tanner?" Rex questions as he points over his shoulder to the Alimon up ahead.

"Hey!"

Chomper shakes his head. "I'm telling you, it's not us I'm sniffing! And if it was Tanner I was sniffing I would've known since his scent is the strongest out of the four of us."

"You know, I can still hear you!"

Yu slightly turns away from Rex and Chomper, taking his turn to try to sniff anything out. "Well I can't smell anything out of the ordinary either other than you, Rex and Tanner." He turns to face Rex and Chomper, "Which I might add my sniffer is as good as yours if I can smell him and he's that far off ahead of us."

"Hey, I bathe regularly!"

Rex rubs his eyes before speaking. "Look, there's nothing out there other than creepy crawlies and moving rocks. Can we just continue on before the Bright Circle falls and Tanner gets out of our range of sight and especially smell?"

Suddenly a bright red Alimon pops from behind Rex, looking at the trio with a threatening glare and snarl. "If I hear another crack about my scent there's gonna be blood all over this region!"

The sudden outburst startles the trio, causing them to scream and fumble back, the three of them falling back onto the ground. With the momentum of the fall Chomper rolls along the ground and collides against something behind a boulder, causing Chomper and another being yelp from the crash. And out from the other side comes a little Fast Biter rolling out from behind the boulder, ending on its stomach flat on the ground.

Hearing the second yelp Yu slowly sits up, shaking his head to rid of the daze before looking at the little Fast Biter. "What the? Terrel?!"

Chomper immediately sits up and looks around. Upon spotting little Terrel on the ground he stands up triumphantly. "Hah! I told you we were being followed!"

Rubbing his head, Rex looks at Tanner and then the both of them look at little Terrel, so Chomper was right after all. Getting up with a glare, Yu angrily stomps over to Terrel, he can't believe the little Sickleclaw followed them all the way here. How could he have disobeyed him after he strictly told him he can't come? Either way, Yu is now very upset and angry about this, and he was going to give the little twerp a piece of his mind.

Seeing his cousin very angry little Terrel got up and scurried behind a boulder, but not even a mountain was going to save him from his cousin's rage.

"Terrel!" The little Fast Biter flinches upon hearing his cousin call out his name. He curls up behind the boulder, if he doesn't see him, maybe he'll go away.

"I know you're back there!" Theory failed, Yu knows he's there and won't go away. "Get out here, right now!" Defeated, Terrel slowly gets out and peaks from behind the boulder, very apparent in his face that Yu isn't in the mood for games, and just making him wait is going to make him angry.

"Now!" Very angry. With a gulp Terrel comes out from behind the boulder and sulkily walks closer toward his cousin. He slowly looks up, seeing his cousin towering over him and tapping his sickle-shaped claw on the ground. After a moment of silence Yu finally speaks out. "What have I told you about following us?! I told you that you can't come with us! Do you have any idea what you just gotten yourself into?!"

Terrel keeps quiet, but the scolding continues. "This is dangerous Terrel! You're still not big and strong enough to handle these kinds of things! You're just an easy meal for scavengers and other Fast Biters! You're too young!"

Terrel starts to narrow his eyes as he looks down at the ground. Of anything he can be called, he despises being called little and weak. If he gave it his all he can be just as good as Yu even if he's still too young.

"All I try to do is to protect you but no, you decide to run off and act like some strong Fast Biter proving you can handle everything! How am I going to get through to you if you keep acting like this?! You're going to get yourself killed if you keep this up!"

The little Fast Biter began to growl. How dare he look down at him like some kind of helpless Fast Biter in distress? How dare he shun him down so easily when he doesn't even give him a chance?

Noticing the little Fast Biter getting hurt by the scolding and realizing it's just getting him angry Rex slowly holds out a paw to Yu. "Um, Yu? I think that's enough."

But Yu doesn't listen and continues. "And another thing, when are you going to learn your own limits?! You try to take on things you can't even handle like that one time you tried to hunt a Spiketail! Do you know how much my back ached after I got clubbed by it when I saved you? I couldn't hunt for days!"

Chomper also took note of Terrel's agitated state and also grows with worry. "Uhhh, Yu?"

But Yu was beyond talking. "So now I have no choice but to take you back to the pack! This is really going to set us back on our journey, Terrel! So turn tail and walk forward and no wandering off for anything while I foll-"

"Why don't you follow your own tail for a change!!" Terrel had enough of the scolding and finally snaps. "You're always breathing down my neck keeping an eye on me trying to make me into a little perfect follower!! Terrel this Terrel that! I'm sick and tired of you carrying me around telling me what and what not to do!! I'm getting so sick of it!!"

Rex and Chomper covered their ears upon Terrel snapping. Heck, even Tanner did the same as he placed his head down to the ground and covered his ears from the little Fast Biter's outburst. As for Yu, the Sickleclaw was taken back by Terrel's sudden outburst as he stands there with widen eyes and his mouth slightly open in shock.

But now it's Terrel's turn to speak out his mind. "You're always putting me down and never give me a chance! You keep saying I'm little when you barely know what I can really do! In fact, I remember you also get angry when the grown-ups never let you do something because you're still little! What about that, huh?! How's it feel to be put down because you're little?!"

The next thing Terrel shouts immediately shocks everyone within hearing radius.

"Aw why should you care?! You're just a stupid Fast Biter who thinks he's too grown up to spend time with us!"

Complete and utter silence falls upon the group. What Terrel said felt like someone took a long and sharp rock and pierced it through his chest and heart, it just hurt that much to Yu. For a few minutes no one spoke, it was that much of a shock and heartbreaking moment. Terrel had run off upon spilling his guts out, leaving behind a stunned Fast Biter and three shocked individuals. Chomper wanted to go after Terrel but was stopped when he felt Rex's paw on his shoulder. This was something to be settled between Yu and Terrel.

"…" Yu slowly bows his head, admitting his mistake of scolding at Terrel. "…Shoot."

Rex, Chomper and Tanner stand there looking at Yu in sympathy. They do agree that Yu went a bit too far with his scolds, but Terrel was also a bit out of line with what he said. Rex was about to say something when a sudden loud crumble of rocks stopped him, catching his attention. Tanner saw something moving out of the corner of his eyes and Chomper caught a number of different scents. Suddenly figures sprung out and surrounded them, snapping Yu out of his sulking state and back away to his friends.

"Fast Biters?!" Rex exclaims as he looks around, surrounded by seven Sickleclaws.

"Dang it! All that shouting led them to us!" Tanner curses as he eyes their predators.

Yu looks at them and tilts his head, gasping upon recognizing some of these Sickleclaws. "These are from the Sodom pack!" Another thing snaps in his mind, causing another gasp. "Oh no! Terrel! If they find him he'll…"

"Well first we gotta save ourselves!" Tanner blurts out.

And so starts another battle to save their lives. Four against seven.

Three Fast Biters lunge for the attack, causing the team to move and separate, making the fight all the more dangerous. Two Fast Biters jump for Rex who simply runs out of the way. One Fast Biter cuts him off and goes for a bite but Rex leaps to the side and goes for the offense, tackling him and biting onto the back of its neck. The Fast Biter screeches in pain as the razor sharp teeth puncture through his skin, drawing the first blood of the fight. A Fast Biter goes to help his friend but Tanner cuts him off with a blow to the head, the sheer strength of the Alimon's paw enough to slam the Fast Biter's head to the ground, knocking it out cold with the slam to the ground.

Chomper runs toward one direction as three Fast Biters chase after him. He jumps over a boulder and crouches down behind it before the three chasers jump over it and look around, confused as to where the Sharptooth ran. Seeing his opening Chomper leaps and tackles the middle Sickleclaw to the ground, causing the other two to jump in surprise and charge at him with a snarl. Thinking quick on his feet Chomper jumps out of the way, making the two Sickleclaws slam into each other. The Sharptooth chuckles but he's suddenly caught by surprise as another Fast Biter pops out of nowhere and lunges at him, ready to tear him apart.

"Aaah!" Chomper screams as the Fast Biter lunges at him with an open mouth to tear him up. He turns his head away for the pain to kick in but he's saved as Yu tackles the Fast Biter away and then slamming him with his tail, knocking him away and down. He sighs in relief but the time to rest is short-lived as the three Sickleclaws he outwitted got up and are now going at him and Yu.

Luckily Tanner jumps in and stands in front of Chomper and Yu, protecting them. The three Sickleclaws lunge for the attack but Tanner, swiftly and quickly, leaps up to his hind legs and slams his powerful paw to one of the Sickleclaw's head, uses his other paw and slashes across another one's face and then he lands on his forepaws, immediately ducks low and leaps, spearing the Fast Biter hard in the stomach and knocking him down. Yu and Chomper are left standing there impressed.

As for Rex he stands up over the Fast Biter he sunk his teeth into. All he had to do was keep his mouth clamped around the back of the Fast Biter's neck and the pain alone was enough to render it unconscious. He turns around at the sound of a snarl and gets tackled to the ground by a Fast Biter. Almost immediately the Fast Biter lunges his jaws down around the Dracovol's head while tackling him down. Rex grits his teeth and cries in pain as the razor sharp teeth are thrusted in his head, threatening to kill him if any of his veins are cut. Not wanting to have it end here, Rex opens one eye and thrusts his paws forward, stabbing his claws into the Sickleclaw's neck and chest. This alarms the Fast Biter, but before he could retaliate Rex slashes his claws downward, severely wounding the Fast Biter and forcing it to remove his bite from around Rex's head. Released, Rex kicks the Fast Biter off of him and rolls away, sitting up and clutching his aching head as it pulses.

While Rex recovers from such a close-call Yu, Chomper and Tanner are facing the remaining four. Three down, four to go. The odds have been leveled.

But apparently the remaining four are wise as they start to back off. Seeing an Alimon with them and lending them their strength they know they're just kidding themselves thinking they can beat them. If they want to beat them they gotta think of something else. With a snarl from one of them they turn tail and retreat, leaving behind their two unconscious friends as the one Rex wounded tries to retreat with them.

"Aw, no more?" Tanner comments with a sneer.

Chomper sighs in relief. "Glad that's over…"

Rex slowly gets up with a moan, clutching and rubbing his head from the puncture wounds, nothing too bad that will hinder him. "Hey guys, how about next time at least one of you watch my ta-" He stops as he sees Yu looking around at a formidable speed, bobbing his head this way and that. No mystery that he's trying to sniff out for Terrel. And with the Sodom pack here, it's top priority.

"Darn it, Terrel…" Yu growls. But instead of getting angry like he usually does when Terrel runs off he gives a loud and sad sigh, his shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry…"

Rex frowns, bad timing for this to happen. They really need to get moving, especially now that the Sodom pack knows they're here. But, they can't just leave Terrel behind without knowing if he's all right or not. Rex slowly walks over to Yu and looks at his face. "Don't worry, we'll find him." He turns around to face Chomper. "Chomper, think you can sniff him out?"

Chomper catches on and smiles with a nod. "You bet I can! Just a good whiff of the air and my sniffer will be all over his scent in no time!"

Rex nods with a smirk. "All right! We're in your paws, Chomper."

Hearing this Yu instantly turns around and shakes his head. "No, it's OK. You guys need to get to Crescent Valley as soon as you can. You three go, I'll find Terrel and head back with him to the pack and wait for you guys to return."

Rex smiles and shakes his head. "No deal, Yu. We're in this together and, well, not even you can stand up to the Sodom pack if they find you."

Tanner steps in to speak his mind. "As much as I would like to stay within Donovan's orders to get to Crescent Valley without distractions, your little raplet does need our help and, well, he won't survive long out here by himself."

Yu smiles a bit, relieved that even the Alimon doesn't mind in going out of their way of the journey to find little Terrel. With his friends having his back, Yu feels more at ease. "Thanks, guys."

Rex smiles and turns to Chomper. "OK Chomper, you know what to do."

"Right!" Chomper throws his head up and begins sniffing the air, letting his nose lead the way as he follows it. He takes a few steps forward and catches the scent he was looking for, although a bit faint, he knows this is the one. "Found him!" He looks at his friends and motions his head. "It's very faint, but his scent leads this way."

"Southwest?" Tanner asks, recognizing the direction and the look of the region. "Are you sure?"

Chomper nods. "Yes, I am sure!"

"Why you ask?" Rex inquires.

Tanner shakes his head as he looks up at Rex. "Dude, southwest of here lies the volcano region Donovan mentioned. If Yu's raplet did go down that direction, he's not gonna last long in that region!" Tanner looks toward the direction Chomper pointed out. "We were supposed to avoid that region by going around it; even doing that is pretty dangerous in itself."

"Well we can't just stand here then!" Yu cries out as he runs down southwest toward the volcano region. "We gotta find him before he gets there!"

"Hey, wait!" Chomper shouts as he runs after Yu. "We gotta follow his scent and not the exact direction! Yu!!"

"You got courageous and rather reckless friends, Rex." Tanner comments with a slight smirk as he stands alongside Rex, watching as Chomper runs after Yu in an attempt to settle him down before he gets into trouble, not giving a care or a second thought of what surrounds them.

Rex chuckles. "Yeah, but you gotta love them. They're the best." After a couple of seconds they look at each other, what the heck are they doing standing around like this? They both suddenly burst into a run to catch up to Chomper and Yu. "Guys, wait up!"

* * *

A dark and gloomy cavern with no light to shine into it, a perfect place for creatures of the dark to hide in, to seek shelter in and hide from the blazing sun outside. Somewhere in the Mysterious Beyond the Darkarians make their home. Somewhere where no one can find them, a place where they can safely regroup and talk of their plans without anyone to eavesdrop on them, a place where anyone who tries to betray them will never see the light of day again.

"Tell me, Stormwhite…Exactly what happened back there?"

It is in these caverns that Stormwhite, the Alimon that faced off against Rex and the rest of the gang, lies low against the ground in an honorable manner. His wounds have been taken care of despite the long journey he had to take to get to where he is now. He slightly trembles upon the sight of the Darkarian leader, no one dares to tell him otherwise or else their life would end pretty quickly. The white and light blue Alimon slowly lifts his head, his blue and green eyes slowly ascending forward to the indoor rock mesa in front of him where two Alimons stand alongside a rather big one in the middle hiding in the shadows, its red eyes the only thing you can clearly see.

The red eyed Alimon narrows his eyes a bit more, clearly angered. "Who was the one that killed Brownstone?!"

Stormwhite gulps. "Re-re-relax, boss…" He winces at the growl of his leader before continuing. "We found three Sharptooth wandering around and we decided to take care of them until one of the Rock Rangers showed up and helped them…"

"And why did you decided to go after meat scrap?!" The leader barks, this is just angering him even further. "Have you forgotten your job was to hunt and kill in the valley and not sidetrack to go after three other Sharpteeth?!"

Stormwhite widens his eyes a bit and gets up fully on all four, his eyes set on his leader. "Bu-But sir! It was him!"

"Him who?!"

"The-The Sharptooth you ordered to kill!"

The leader kept silent upon hearing this. So, the Sharptooth he demanded to take care of was around. Maybe he won't punish this Alimon after all for getting the Rock Ranger's attention. The leader slowly sits down, interested in this. "And let me guess, this Sharptooth, he was the one that killed Brownstone, did he?"

Stormwhite slowly nods. "Yeah, that punk along with three of his other friends did it."

This came to no surprise to the leader, after all why else would he send the order to kill this Sharptooth on sight? Brownstone was a Darkarian of course, but a rather low ranking member. But when someone kills a fellow Darkarian that killer earned itself a spot on the list for the Darkarians' assassins.

"Interesting situation…" The guardian Alimon on the leader's left speaks out.

"Eh?" Stormwhite arches an eyebrow to the Alimon. "What are you talking about, bro?"

The Alimon slowly closes his eyes. "Not too long ago our spies returned from the surrounding area of the valley. And they told us they spotted the Sharptooth in question leaving with three others heading toward the direction of Crescent Valley."

"Awesome." Stormwhite smirks. "Shall I go find him and take care of him, boss?"

The leader took his time to answer Stormwhite's request, with the Sharptooth accompanied with three others Stormwhite alone will get killed in no time. With this kind of companionship it won't be easy to make the kill, but…

The Alimon on the right slowly gets up from lying down and approaches the edge of the mesa, coming out from the shadows and showing his jet black skin with a white muzzle, the spot almost in the shape of a star. His feathers are all grey with a white stripe from between his eyes along the back of his head and neck and ending at the tip of his tail. "It does not concern us about them for now…" He speaks in a deep and dark voice, although not as dark as their leader. "Either way, their journey will be nigh impossible…"

The Alimon on the left arches an eyebrow to the black Alimon. "Nigh impossible?" He smiles a bit while narrowing his eyes. "If that's so, then tell us, Star, what have the heavens told you this time?"

The black Alimon, Star, slowly closes his eyes as he lifts his head up. He stays like that for a couple of seconds, as if listening to something up in the sky. Star is known in the pack as the Heaven Interpreter, the one who gazes up at the moon and stars every night for hours doing what he says 'listening to the skies.' He claims the moon and stars prophesize to him of what the future holds for them and other dinosaurs.

Star slowly opens his mouth and speaks. "The journey will break one's heart."

"That's it?" Stormwhite blurts out; to him that was the worst prophesy he has ever heard from him. "How can a simple journey exactly break one's heart?"

Star looks over at Stormwhite. "You question me?"

Stormwhite rolls his eyes and begins counting his doubts with his claws. "Well it's just that before Brownstone and I head to the Great Valley a few days ago you 'prophesized' that anyone that faced us would end up with its face on the ground. Now if I recall correctly I got bruised, cut, bitten on and my partner got killed." Stormwhite stops and looks at Star with a rather sarcastic expression. "Where do I draw the line here with your 'prophecies'?"

"Hmph." Star couldn't help but smile a bit with an arrogant expression. This Alimon is more lost than he anticipated. "If I recall I never mentioned anything about your safety. Nevertheless, you did report your attackers suffered defeat shortly after, did you not?"

"Well yeah but…!" Stormwhite was about to snap at him again, but he was cornered after hearing that. He's right; Star never did mentioned anything about their well being, just that anyone that tried to stop them would suffer a rather humiliating defeat if he interpreted Star's words correctly. And he was right; his attackers actually did suffer a rather quick and embarrassing defeat at the paws of the Dracovol that showed up.

"I thought so." Star mockingly concludes upon seeing the white Alimon step down.

"Enough!" The leader barks, bearing his teeth a bit in a malicious grin. "Now, the target is traveling to Crescent Valley as our spies claim. Normally I would send a pawful of my assassins to destroy him, but…" He moves his gaze to Star, his malicious grin still intact. "Star's prophecy has given me a nice idea…"

"The journey will break one's heart." Stormwhite recites again. "Sounds promising but how exactly did this give you an idea?"

The leader couldn't help but to chuckle, how naïve is this Alimon. He hasn't figured it out yet. Stormwhite tilts his head a bit at his leader's chuckle, but as he catches on his eyes widen. "Sir, you…You don't mean you're gonna…" Stormwhite shudders at the thought. "You're one mean Sharptooth…"

The leader laughs, calling him mean is an understatement, he's meaner than mean. Heck, he's the one leading the Darkarians. He can think of even worse things than what he has in store for the Sharptooth. The leader slowly stops laughing, eyeing Stormwhite with a malicious grin. "He'll regret to have ever gotten involve with the Rock Rangers and killing one of my fellow Alimons…" He turns his head to his left toward Star. "Star, I trust you know what to do."

Star simply nods. "Of course. However, she might do things her way."

The leader shakes his head in reply. "I'm sure she will, but this time I'll allow it." The leader grins again as he thinks about the possibilities of this task. "It will be like reliving the glorious past for her…"

Her indeed, of course she's going to enjoy this. Stormwhite even felt a bit of sympathy to this Sharptooth. After she's through with him he'll be practically begging to have his life ended. Stormwhite paces around the outside of the caverns after he was dismissed from his little meeting with the leader, and he wasn't exactly too happy. He wanted to get some payback to the Sharptooth after what happened back there. But now it's obvious to him that he'll never get the chance.

"Why always her…" Stormwhite mutters under his breath. "When it comes to these kinds of things he always sends her and leaves us with the scrap…"

"It appears you are still in the dark, as usual."

Stormwhite flinches. He recognizes that voice. He turns to his left and spots a purple Alimon approaching him. Purple with a red blotch on her chest, yellow claws and eyes, her downy fur-like feathers are as purple as her skin. "Violet." Stormwhite calls her name. Violet, Stormwhite's sister. Not much is known about her, and her brother, Stormwhite, isn't so cooperative of sharing anything he knows about her, which makes more of an enigma.

She looks at her brother with stern eyes. "Axel is second-in-command of our pack, giving her the same privileges as our leader has."

Stormwhite looks at his sister as if she thinks he's an idiot. He knows that already, but it still doesn't explain the amount of work the leader has been giving her recently. As second-in-command she is to give the orders and barely lift a claw.

"Don't give me that look." Violet orders as her eyes dangerously narrow. When angry she can be pretty violent. "Axel is the most feared member of the Darkarians, even feared among our own. She can do whatever she desires and no one would dare question her authority."

Stormwhite arches an eyebrow. Is that so, he thought, well what's wrong with that, aren't leaders suppose to be feared and respected by everyone? He blinks as it clicks in his head. "Are you saying our leader is afraid of her? That he's giving her as much entertainment as she wants to keep her away or something?"

"Heh," Violet couldn't help but smirk a bit, is brother still hasn't grasped the concept. "It's a simple strategy, my dear brother. Feed the hungry and they won't start a riot for their food. As long as the leader keeps her satisfied, she won't have a need to go out of our leader's way for her own plans and, therefore, ruin what we, the Darkarians have been working so hard to accomplish."

Stormwhite recaps all of what his sister has told him. In other words Axel is like a double edged sword, the Alimon to trust to finish a job perfectly and the Alimon that can ruin everything they have worked so hard for with a simple bark of an order. Being second-in-command, she has enough power to even over throne their current leader. Axel's presence is a danger to the whole pack, including their leader.

"I never liked her." Stormwhite comments.

* * *

Things weren't going as well as they thought. They knew the Sodom pack was in the area, but they had no idea the pack was aiming at them like this. During their search for Terrel they've been chased, attacked, ambushed, even to the point where they had to hide in crevasses and behind boulders to lose them. It's been a very intensive day. Yu was getting impatient though, but he kept calm and silently prayed that Terrel was all right. With just his sense of smell Chomper could tell if Terrel was alive or not, and to everyone's relief the little raplet _is _still alive.

Chomper runs up to a ledge of the rocky region, sniffing the air to keep track of the scent. His sniffer really is a wonder. "We're almost there!" Chomper reports to his friends. "Just a little more!"

As Chomper runs down the ledge Rex, Tanner and Yu pick up the pace to the ledge. The blue and green Sickleclaw is still feeling awful about shouting at his little cousin, his eyes watery as some tears go down his cheeks. "I'm such a dummy head…" He insults himself as he stops. "If I wouldn't have yelled at him he wouldn't have ran away…And now with the Sodom pack here who knows if he's OK…"

With a concerned look Rex walks up to Yu and places his paw on his shoulder. "Don't think like that, Yu. He's going to be all right. We'll find him!"

"Sure we will!" Chomper cries as he walks back to his friends, proudly pointing at his nose. "Like I said my sniffer can sniff out anything. I can even tell if what I'm sniffing is OK or not. And I can say for sure that Terrel is still OK!"

"Heh!" Rex smiles upon hearing this. "See? We'll find him for sure! And then you can tell him how sorry you are for scolding at him."

Tanner looks behind him to make sure they aren't being followed. He then turns to the gang. "Yeah well we won't find him if we stand around here with those Fast Biters looking for us." He announces as he steps in. "We better get moving!"

Yu lifts his head up and nods, his spirit and determination lifted by his friends' encouraging words. "Thanks guys. C'mon, let's go find him."

The gang nods and continues on their way down the ledge. Chomper takes up the lead following Terrel's scent through the rocky region, each of them keeping their eyes open for any of the Sodom pack that would give the jump on them to attack. They all keep quiet as they traverse through the area, rocks and boulders littered around the brown and muddy region around the base of Threehorn Peak. There isn't much to look at other than little critters crawling about. The silence is eerie with the exception of some rocks and pebbles giving way and rolling to the ground. A shiver goes up Rex's spine as he ponders where the rest of the Sodom pack is. Maybe watching them from behind boulders? Maybe behind that boulder? Or maybe around the corner of that crevasse they're about to pass on their right.

To their relief their pass is a peaceful one until Chomper stops to sniff the air. As the others stop they watch as Chomper looks around, sniffing to the left and taking a few steps to the right to sniff. "What's the hold up?" Tanner questions as he walks up to Chomper.

"Well…" Chomper begins as he sounds a little worried. He continues to sniff the air a bit more, leaving the gang a bit confused at what's going on.

An impatient Yu steps up to him. "Well? What's wrong?! Is Terrel…?"

After a moment of silence Chomper turns to his friends with a little grin. "To be honest, I lost the scent."

Rex and Tanner frown upon hearing this. Lost the scent? That's not good at all. In fact this is the extreme opposite of good; this is something that isn't going well with Yu. The Fast Biter almost immediately ran up to Chomper and nearly bit his head off. "What do you mean you lost the scent?! I thought you said your sniffer could sniff out anything! How could you have lost Terrel's scent you little-"

The poor Sharptooth winces and closes his eyes from Yu's yelling. And it could've been worse but Rex immediately jumps and pounces on Yu, pulling the enraged Fast Biter away from Chomper. "Whoa! Take it easy there, Yu!"

Chomper, a bit shaken up from the yelling, shook it off and spoke in his defense. "It's not my fault! There's some icky scent keeping me from finding Terrel!" Chomper sniffs again and covers his nostrils with his arms. "Bleck! Really icky…"

Tanner sniffs the air and also smells a rather nasty odor. Chomper's right, something _is _blocking other scents with this foul smell. He starts to think about what he knows about this area and immediately something clicks. He steps forward while ignoring the little tussle between Rex and Yu as the Dracovol tries to calm the Fast Biter down. He jumps onto a boulder to get a good view of what lies in front of them and his suspicions were true.

He sees a vast area with a lot of holes on the ground and smokes puffing out of them after a certain period of time. These smokes puff out from miles below the earth and usually send off a rather bad odor, bearable but it makes it almost impossible to track anything while in it. One time when Tanner was younger both he and Zitro ran off into this particular area for one of their mischievous little games they used to play to pass the time. The scent made them lose each other and had to rely on vision to find each other, which wasn't a rather easy thing to do since the place is rather huge. They did manage to find each other and get back home before things got worst such as the Bright Circle going down on them.

He winces as he hears more bickering behind him and with a growl turns his head to the gang. "Hey! Knock it off!"

Both Rex and Yu stop upon being told to knock it off. Rex lets Yu go with a rather embarrassing grin while Yu sighs and turns his head to Chomper. "I'm sorry."

Chomper smiles and shrugs it off. "It's okay."

Tanner continues looking at the field up ahead while the three Sharpteeth get together and walk up to Tanner, also gazing at the field in front of them. The smell immediately infiltrate their nostrils, just by the smell they know their sense of smell is going to be useless here. Tanner gives off a sigh, "I was hoping we would avoid crossing here…"

There isn't anything else they can do now. If Terrel's scent led them here before Chomper's nostrils were invaded by this field's smell, then Terrel has to be around here somewhere. The gang makes their way down to the field, the smoke it puffs out covering the area with light fog. Chomper sniffs the air and covers his nose again. "Yuck! What is this stuff flying out of the ground?!"

Curious, Rex gets close to one of the holes. As soon as he got close the hole suddenly puffs out a stream of smoke, startling the Dracovol as he screams. As for Yu he just continues walking through the fields while looking both ways, trying to find his little cousin. He's worried sick about him, somewhere lost in this place without anyone to protect him. If it wasn't for this field Chomper would've still been tracking him down. Yu continues walking until he bumps into a mountain wall, didn't even see it coming due to the fog. He shakes his head and lowers it to rub his snout with his little arm, "Ow…"

After rubbing his snout he looks up and to his right, spotting a ledge about 20 feet up and, to his delight, spots something familiar up there sitting at the edge with its head bowed down. "Terrel!!" Yu eagerly looks left and right to find that road that leads him up here. He quickly spots an uphill and quickly runs to it, running up to it as fast as he can. He ends up in a big canyon-like clearing and looks to his left, spotting the path that takes him to the ledge. Without wasting time he runs down it, seeing Terrel at the end. "Terrel!"

The little Fast Biter quickly lifts his head upon hearing his name being called, and he couldn't help but growl. Him again…

"Terrel!" Yu stops to catch his breath. "Hahh…Hahh…I'm so glad you're all right…" He smiles down at his little cousin. "I was so worried about you…" He was about step closer to him but stops his advance, noticing Terrel glanced at him with a glare. The little one is clearly angry with him. Yu sighs as he lowers his head. "Terrel…I…I'm sorry…"

The little raplet doesn't answer, but Yu wasn't expecting one. He continues as he tries to get closer to him. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that…I know I went out of line with the things I said…I…I just want to protect yo-"

"I…I just wanted to be like you…" Terrel admits, now it's his turn to speak. "You don't know how much I hate being small…" He slowly turns to Yu as he gets up from sitting down, his eyes down to the ground. "I just want to be trusted like how your dad trusts you…I want to go on adventures, not stick behind the Backer Lines doing nothing while the ones I care about are risking their lives…I…" He looks up at his cousin with determination in his eyes. "I want to protect the things I love! I'm tired of being protected!"

Yu stares down at his cousin; he never thought Terrel would have such desires and dreams. His tough act and tendency to go off on his own…He was trying to be more like him? To find a way to break out of being looked down as the little one and to become a strong and independent Fast Biter…A formidable hunter…

Yu tries to find words, something to say to his cousin. "Terrel…I-" Suddenly the earth shook for a second, causing both Yu and Terrel to slightly lose their footing. Suddenly the earth shakes again. An earth shake? No way, an earth shake would last longer than this and not be so repeatedly. But a hunter like Yu knows what the heck is going on. With a gasp Yu turns his head to Terrel. "Terrel, we gotta move!"

Yu and Terrel break off into a run back to get back to the others down to the fields of smoke, but, right at the clearing before the turn down, they come face to face with what Yu feared. A T-Rex Sharptooth. It made its way into the clearing from another path, and it is hungry. Curiously but oblivious to the two Fast Biters in their scared state, this Sharptooth has a red claw on his left arm.

It roars loud as it swings his massive head down and spots Yu and Terrel, a roar that Rex, Chomper and Tanner heard loud and clear at the fields of smoke. With a gulp Chomper steps back, "Where…Where did that came from?"

Rex swings his head back and forth, trying to find someone. "Where's Yu?!" Suddenly two screams echo through the fields, the three of them recognize them in a snap. Looking at each other with widen eyes, they could only say one thing. "Yu!!"

The three Sharpteeth break off into a run toward the sound of the scream as fast as their legs can carry them. Meanwhile Yu and Terrel are backing up away from the giant Sharptooth, their path to escape cut off by the giant's massive body and tail. It's all over if the Sharptooth brings his teeth down on them. The Sharptooth roars again at them, triggering Yu's mind to come up with something quick or get eaten. Immediately he looks around and spots a road to his left, leading a bit higher up into the mountainside.

"C'mon, Terrel!" Yu shouts as he makes a run for it, Terrel following right behind him. The movement stirs the Sharptooth, making it roar again. The roar trembles the ground, sending some pebbles tumbling down the mountain walls and peppering Yu and Terrel with their little rocky hides. One false move and they could trip down to the ground below.

"Yu!!" Yu's eyes widen. That was Rex! He looks over and sees Rex, Chomper and Tanner run up into the area, immediately spotting the T-Rex in the area having its eyes on the two Fast Biters. The three of them gasp upon seeing the giant with its intent on turning Yu and Terrel into a little snack; they had to do something to get it away from them!

"C'mon!" Rex cries to Chomper and Tanner as he runs up to the Sharptooth.

Tanner shakes his head in disbelief, did he heard right? "Are you serious?! That thing can eat us in one gulp!"

Rex stops a few feet away from the Sharptooth and shouts at it, trying to grab its attention. But the Sharptooth is more interested in the moving critters making their way up the passage on the mountainside, to which the Sharptooth intends on knocking them down. It slams its head against the mountain wall, shaking up the ground the two Fast Biters are standing on and nearly knocking them down. Terrel falls flat on his stomach and looks down, terrified at witnessing the Sharptooth this close yet out of his reach. Yu looks down at Terrel and picks him up to his feet with his mouth. "Don't look down! Keep climbing!"

Meanwhile Rex was trying his best to get the Sharptooth's attention, but nothing is working for him. He growls in frustration, trying to find a better way to help his friends. Suddenly Tanner sprints out and lunges at the Sharptooth's knees, injuring them with a good slash of his claws. The pain was enough to get the Sharptooth to roar in pain and look down, his attention is now grabbed.

"All right!" Rex cheers as Tanner did it. But now the Sharptooth is growling at them, which now unsettles the Dracovol. "Uhhh…Heheh, uh what now?"

Tanner, who was backing up to Rex and Chomper, only had one plan. "Now, we run!"

The Sharptooth lowers his head and roars loudly at them, blowing back Rex and Tanner's feathers while the three of them struggle to keep themselves upright and not blown away. Yu and Terrel look down and gasps as the Sharptooth shifted his attention to their friends. "No! Get away from them, you big bully!" Yu shouts at the Sharptooth to no avail.

Terrel slightly backed away against the mountain wall, the poor thing is trembling with fear. He has never been in a situation this dire before, and to be frank he's scared to death.

Rex and the others were backed up against the mountain wall, pinned as the Sharptooth took two steps toward them. They all scream as the Sharptooth sent his head down bite them down. They manage to jump out of the way in time, letting the Sharptooth crash its head into the mountain wall. The shock of the crash shakes some pebbles and rocks loose, landing and hitting on the Sharptooth's head. This does nothing but enrage the dinosaur as he brings his head up in a roar before turning to the little pests. This gave Terrel an idea. He looks up at the rock formations up the passage; some of them seem a bit unstable with little rocks at the bottom with big ones on top.

"Uh guys, we need an idea here." Chomper shakily requests as he backs up from the angry Sharptooth.

"The Sharptooth is blocking our only way out." Tanner growls as he backs up as well, trying to think of a plan to get out of this. "Otherwise I would've already shouted to run for it…"

"That sounds good right about now…" Rex comments before turning his head to Tanner. "You're an Alimon, Tanner! A strong Sharptooth hunter! How would you get out of this?"

"Geez, put me in the middle, why don't ya!" Tanner jokes around as he turns his head to Rex. "Alimons may be strong but you can't expect me to face off against this Sharptooth and win!"

The Sharptooth snarls and readies to lunge again until a rock hits his head again. The Sharptooth shakes his head and looks up only to have another rock thrown at him. Rex, Chomper and Tanner look at each other, who on earth would do that? Rex looks up and gasps in horror. "Terrel!"

Indeed, the little raplet gathered his courage and stands on a rather unstable-looking pile of rocks, a wall-worth of boulders. He uses his tail to smack little rocks at the Sharptooth, getting his attention. "Over here, you big dummy!" He insults as he smacks another rock at the Sharptooth's direction, hitting him right between his eyes.

Yu's eyes widen in fear. "Terrel, no!" He looks over at the Sharptooth, noticing the tyrant looking at the little raplet before advancing toward him. While Terrel is out of range from the Sharptooth's bite, a shake from slamming into the wall could make the Fast Biter slip and fall, falling right into the Sharptooth's grasp. This is a risk Yu will not take. He runs toward "Terrel! Get away from there!"

"Terrel!!" Rex and Chomper both cry out in horror, worried about Terrel's situation. If he doesn't stop that and runs for it the shock of the Sharptooth slamming into the wall could make him fall. And if the Sharptooth doesn't kill him the fall alone will.

But Terrel shows no fear. He watches as the Sharptooth approaches, eyeing him as he glances back at the rocks behind him, trying to get an angle. He looks at Yu as his name is called out again to get away from there. But he doesn't back up and replies sternly. "No Yu, this time you stay away!"

Yu is taken back from Terrel's reply, making him stop cold in his track. Terrel just looks at his cousin with confidence. "I know what I'm doing! Trust me!"

Yu watches on in disbelief as his little cousin pulls off _the _most dangerous stunt he has ever pulled. Yu takes a step forward to stop Terrel from doing this, but after taking the step he stops, thinking back to what Terrel told him.

"_I want to go on adventures, not stick behind the Backer Lines doing nothing while the ones I care about are risking their lives…I…I want to protect the things I love! I'm tired of being protected!"_

Yu slowly nods and backs off, he has been protecting Terrel for as long as he can remember, taking care of him and making sure he was out of trouble. But now, now it's Terrel's turn to protect them. "Terrel…"

As the Sharptooth turned its body toward the mountain wall Terrel is trying to ready his idea. The idea is to, when the Sharptooth slams against the wall, the shock of the slam would loosen the rocks behind Terrel and, with the shove of some little ones at the bottom, the whole thing would crumble down and bury the Sharptooth under it all. It's risky since Terrel is risking in getting dragged down with the rock slide, but it would put the Sharptooth down and out, allowing the others to get away.

"What's he doing?!" Chomper asks to no one in particular as he watches the Sharptooth turning around.

Tanner was mildly impressed by the idea but concerned about Terrel's well being. "The little Fast Biter is trying to spring a trap on the Sharptooth. But if something goes wrong he can get himself killed!"

Upon hearing this Rex's eyes widen. "Oh no! Don't do it, Terrel!!"

But Terrel already made his decision. He backs up to the rocks behind him as the Sharptooth glares and charges. Within a second the Sharptooth collides against the mountain, triggering the big boulders above to crumble down. Terrel nearly falls from the shock but finds his footing in time to notice the rocks behind him are starting to crumble. This was his chance! He runs against a rock from the bottom and pushes against it, moving it and loosening a pile of other rocks and, just like that, a massive wall-worth of boulders begin to give way and crumble as the boulders from the top roll down and stir them up. Now if Terrel ever had a time to run away as fast as he possibly can, this was the time. He starts to run but trips on a few little pebbles, but he doesn't give up though, he picks himself up again and continues to run as a boulder slams down on the same area he tripped, nearly avoiding being crushed to death. The string of events of the rock slide all happen within seconds, the Sharptooth barely looked up before a massive pile of boulders crushed his head and piled up all over him, his massive body pushed down to the ground from the massive weight of the entire wall.

Rex, Chomper and Tanner cover their faces as a massive could of dust and dirt blow against them as the entire wall crumbled down, covering them with dirt and pelting them with little pebbles; an impressive feat for just a little guy. Like the saying goes, size doesn't matter.

Rex slowly uncovers his face, looking at the massive dust cloud up ahead as the daylight and wind give way of the darkness "Whoa…" An entire wall has crumbled down and gave way to a new path, the massive Sharptooth lies now buried under boulders and rock. The three of them stand stunned at the magnitude of such feat, incredible to believe little Terrel actually did this. "Heh!" Rex slowly smiles as his mouth slowly opens, the shock dying down. "He did it!"

Up on the mountain wall, Yu and Terrel cough from the dust cloud. Yu slowly stops coughing as he looks at Terrel who managed to get away unscathed, he can hardly believe his little cousin did such an incredible feat all by himself, especially taking down an actual Sharptooth. As Terrel stops coughing and looks at his cousin Yu shoots a glare at his little cousin. "Terrel…That was insane!" Terrel flinches from the tone in Yu's voice, but soon Yu lightens up and whistles impressively. "That was incredible though!"

Terrel looks back at his handiwork and couldn't help but smirk smugly as he turned to Yu. "I told you I can take care of anything!"

Yu smiles, "Heh, yeah you did." He looks down at his cousin with pride, while it was a dangerous feat, he can't help but feel proud with his cousin. "Terrel I…I'm sorry I was so overprotective back then…I was just scared I was going to lose you if anything happened…"

Terrel giggles. "Ah it's my fault really, I guess I was just so eagered with growing up I was a little impatient. You were right, Yu, I guess I still have some growing to do."

"That you do." Yu remarks with a chuckle, which also made Terrel giggle. He looks back at the ruins Terrel did and couldn't help but be impressed by the sight. "I guess you got something to brag about with the others back home now."

"Heheh! Yup!" Terrel grins with a glint in his eyes. "Now no one can treat me like a little guy! They're going to start treating me with respect and look up to me! Just like with you!"

Yu chuckles, typical Terrel. "Heheh, let's not get carried away."

"Hey!" A voice calls out to the Fast Biters. Both Yu and Terrel look down below to see Rex and Chomper looking up at them. "You guys okay?!" Chomper calls out to them.

Yu looks at Terrel and then back down at them. "Yeah! We're okay! Just a little shaken up!"

"Well come on down, you two!" Rex cries up to them. "Tanner says that hole in the wall Terrel just did takes us out of here and to the mountains that spit flowing fire!"

Yu nods. "We'll be right down!"

The mountains that spit flowing fire, huh? That's another place Donovan said they would pass through on their way to Crescent Valley. They're on the right track after all. Yu backs off from the edge and goes to walk down to the others before he spots Terrel looking at him with a bit of sadness in his eyes. "What?" Yu tilts his head. "Are you trying to tell me you don't wanna come along?"

Terrel flinches and looks at Yu in disbelief. Did he just heard right? Is Yu actually telling him he can come along with them? Terrel just can't believe he just heard that, especially after the scare he put him through with his idea. "Are…Are you serious?!"

Yu makes a thinking gesture before answering. "Do you want to walk all the way back home all by yourself? After coming all this way I can't afford wasting time going back."

Terrel grins excitedly. He gets to go on an actual adventure! His very first one! "Yay!" He cheers as he jumps around Yu, cheerfully giving his thanks and cheering that he gets to go.

Yu laughs from his cousin's antics. "Yeah yeah, but let's just get one thing straight!" He puts his foot forward and trips Terrel down, a usual thing he does to him when he gets too excited to get his attention. "Stay close to me and take cover if anything bad happens, understand?"

Terrel gets up and gives a nod. "Yeah, I will!" And he will indeed. With Yu trusting him to come along in his first adventure he can't afford to disobey now, otherwise Yu will never take him along to another adventure again.

"Promise?"

"I promise!"

"Hey you two, any moment now!" They heard Tanner shout, sounding rather impatient.

"Heheh," Yu couldn't help but chuckle. "All right, let's go before they leave us behind."

With a smile Terrel follows Yu down the trail and to the canyon below, carefully climbing up the pile of boulders and following the others through the hole; their next destination, the volcano region beyond Threehorn Peak. But, unknown to them, just a few minutes after leaving two Fast Biters walk into the canyon where the massive battle took place; a green one with dark green stripes along his back and a blue one with dark blue stripes along his back.

They sniff around as they snarl, looking for something. They soon the spot the ruins laying in front of them and the body of a T-Rex Sharptooth under them, the signs of a devastating rock slide. The two Fast Biters eye the ruins as they look around the area. Soon enough the pile of rocks stir and with good strength the Sharptooth from under it all shakes off the boulders from on top of him and slowly gets up with a snarl. Relieved from the pile of rocks that was on top of him he roar in pain as a wound snakes from his left eye down his neck to his left little arm, ending over his red claw. His left eye is now blood red as it also got hurt from the wound.

The two Fast Biters look up at the wounded Sharptooth, curiously not showing any fear at him as if they were looking at a huge friend. The Sharptooth stands there with a mean glare and snarl as he now suffers a bad injury and looks at the hole in the wall, the same direction the five Sharpteeth who did this to him left. The two Fast Biters walk up to the Sharptooth as if concerned about his injury and look at the same direction the Sharptooth is looking at. The Sharptooth then roars out in anger up at the heavens, deciding his revenge…

* * *

Another chapter done. Just to clear something before anything happens, the song in this chapter was created by me, they are original lyrics.


	11. Discovery, revenge and heat

It was around noon or so, that's all Vlad knew as he laid back in his cave blankly staring up at the cavern ceiling, the coldness of the deep cavern surrounding him as he thought about what he and his friends have planned for today. He always wanted to go hunting again; it's been months since he last went to one. Just like they discussed last night, to find and hunt down an old friend of Vlad's, the Alimon that has been haunting him ever since the days of youth.

"Are you sure, Blackpaw?"

Vlad turns his head toward the outside of the cavern, spotting two figures by the entrance; one of his father's and the other of Blackpaw, his father's childhood friend and basically the guardian of Crescent Valley.

"Yes," Blackpaw nods. "There was another Alimon roaming about the outskirts of the valley. Strangely enough around the same location the other Alimons from before were spotted."

Vlad hums to himself as he listens, those Alimons must've found one of the secret tunnels around the valley. Around the valley walls there are at least three known openings that lead both inside and outside of the valley while avoiding the actual entrance. These tunnels are too small for the adults to go through them, and for now only some of the children Dracovols know about them. It's kind of like a typical children secret, share with friends but keep from the grown ups.

"It's strange indeed," Zarek, Vlad's father, scratches his chin as he looks out to the valley from on top of the cliff they both stand. "Very troubling, just what are they up to…?"

Vlad ponders; their guess is as good as his. Other than Axel, why would Alimons have any business here? He shakes the question off; he has to meet up with Shino soon. He turns over and gets up on all four, shaking his head a bit to ruffle up his feathers on his head and back of his neck before walking deeper into his cave and through a narrow opening to his left. This serves as a second exit to Vlad since the little opening is a bit too narrow for his father to go through, and it serves as a great way to sneak out.

As he snuck out through the narrow opening and down a corridor to the second exit he began thinking about this hunt; Kedem wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea and he still isn't. He recalls how he went into a fit during their walk to their respective sleeping place, how dangerous and stupid this plan is.

Vlad narrows his eyes a bit as he walks out of the cave and onto a cliff, he wasn't going to back down now. He always wanted to get his revenge against the Alimon who killed his mother. Without fear the young Dracovol charged toward the cliff and jumped. He freefalls down the cliff before opening his wings and taking flight, his course set to the valley's lake where he and his friends usually hang out. He feels his heart pounding against his chest, nervous for the little adventure up ahead where his skills and abilities will be tested out. There's only one question in his mind as he reaches his destination and touches ground in front of the lake, slowly dropping on all four as he looks down at the green grass.

Is he ready for this?

"Just in time." Vlad lifts his head up and to his right, catching Shino walking out of the shadows of some trees and toward him, standing up on two legs. He stops and points to his left toward the mountain walls, indicating to the tunnel hidden in that direction. "Ready?"

Vlad stands up on his two legs and nods, it's now or never. "Yeah."

With a nod from Shino the two of them walk north to the mountain walls where they'll surely find their secret tunnel that leads them to the outside without being seen. "So you got any idea on where to look first?" Shino inquires as he takes the lead.

"I got a pretty good guess," Vlad answers. "Blackpaw keeps saying he keeps spotting Alimons around the outskirts of the valley. We can try to find footprints or fly high enough to spot anything from them."

"That's limited." Shino complains with a bit of a chuckle. As they get closer to the wall he looks both ways, wondering where Kedem is. He shrugs it off as he walks through some bushes and finds the little cave that'll take them outside, if Kedem wants to join them he'll know where to find them.

"Hey!! Wait up!" Or not, seems like Kedem is coming after all. The two Dracovols turn around to see their remaining friend running toward them.

"So you decided to come along, eh Kedem?" Shino comments with a slight smirk.

Kedem stops to catch his breath as he finally gets to them, panting as he stands there on all four, his tongue hanging out. He finally stops as he starts growling and lifts his head up to his friends, shooting a glare at them. "I'm not here to go with you guys, I'm here to talk you guys out of it!" He slowly gets up to his legs as he continues. "You guys are crazy doing this! Remember the stories, what our parents taught us, you two would get killed without them putting up an effort!" He takes a deep breath before continuing, calming himself down. "Look, all that I'm saying is for you guys to forget about this ridiculous idea and do something less suicidal. I mean, going after an Alimon is just plain dumb!"

Shino narrows his eyes a bit and takes one step toward Kedem, pointing a threatening claw at him. "Listen, I'm sick and tired of always eating green food and waiting for the grown ups to take us out hunting. Whatever we do is our business and not yours to tell us what to do. I'm going out there, one way or another. Alimon or no Alimon I will hunt." And with that the black Dracovol turns heel and walks into the little cavern.

Kedem sighs; Shino was never easy to try to talk him out of something crazy. He turns his head to Vlad and tries to convince him as well. "Vlad, please. You're only going to get yourself killed. Just forget about going after that Alimon, please."

Vlad stares at his friend as he just pleaded him to forget about going after the Alimon that has tormented him so. Normally Vlad would give such decisions a second thought, but he's been wanting to make that Alimon pay for years now. And now that he's older and capable of hunting and fighting, he feels that time is now. He slowly narrows his eyes as the memories come back to him, how that Alimon tormented and threatened him with death. But not anymore, that all stops now.

"Listen, Kedem," Vlad starts. "That Alimon has always been attacking me, trying to kill me, and I'm sick of it. But now, I have a chance to make her pay, to get my revenge for killing my mother. I made a promise to myself that when I had the skills I would hunt her down and get my revenge one way or another." He turns around to the cavern Shino went through, intending on following him in. "I'm not forcing you to come with us, but this is something I just have to do."

"But Vlad…" Kedem stops short as Vlad walks to the cavern while holding his paw up to him, not wanting to hear him any more. As he watches his friend going through the cave opening he felt his heart sink, a pressure in his stomach. He knows Vlad and Shino won't make it back alive. After hearing all the stories and things about Alimons, just about anyone would believe nothing can get away from them alive.

"I've got to stop them…" Kedem mutters to himself before turning around and running off. He can't do this alone.

But as he runs off both Vlad and Shino are just coming out of the other side of the little tunnel. As Vlad stumbles out of it he walks up to Shino, marveling the terrain of the Mysterious Beyond with wonder. Vast green plains and the far off desert as far as their eyes can be. Vlad smiles a bit, it's been ages since he last been out here, viewing the marvelous view of the area and beyond. The clear blue skies are overhead and the Bright Circle shining high above, the freedom of it all.

"Ah, the Mysterious Beyond as everyone calls it." Shino comments as he looks around the vast sight. "Much better than always seeing mountains surrounding us, huh?"

Vlads nods in response, admiring the view in front of them. The freedom, the view, it's all so embracing. He felt like flying high into those clear blue skies and fly as far as he could. He suddenly frowns, spotting something up ahead; too far to identify it right, but it's moving on four legs, moving away from them. It could be an Alimon, probably the one Blackpaw said he saw.

Shino looks at his friend, seeing him frown. "Hm? You see something?"

Vlad nods and points. "Yeah, over there. Look closely."

Shino turns his head to where Vlad is pointing at, trying to find what he found. Nothing but a green field…Wait, something's moving far ahead. "I think I see it." Shino narrows his eyes a bit and smirks before turning his head to Vlad. "Might be what we're looking for!"

Vlad nods, whatever it is it might be their first prey of the day. Without hesitation the two Dracovols started off, running on all four toward the distance to chase this figure they spotted.

* * *

A bush rustles. Something stirs inside its green leaves, making its way through it. With a sudden jerk the face of a Longneck peeks out, looking both ways scanning the area. With a smile the Longneck walks out of the bush, a group of his friends following close behind.

"This is it." Littlefoot declares as he walks into the opening. "This is where that second Longneck Biter saved me from the first one."

The gang looked around. There's nothing of interest here other than a few trees and the mountain wall close by. This area is deep into an area of the Great Valley anyone rarely visits, perfect for anyone to hide from the crowd just to be alone. But if that's the case, then how did this Longneck Biter came into the valley without being seen or causing a riot. In fact, where did this Longneck Biter run off to?

"So uhhh…" Cera starts as she arches an eyebrow while looking around. "Where did you say you saw the Longneck Biter run of to again?"

Littlefoot looks around as he tries to pinpoint the exact location he was standing. Quite hard to try to find a spot you were standing yesterday. He stands on the spot he estimates was the same as yesterday and looks around; trying to find the area he's looking for. "I think it was…" He mutters as he scans the area. "Ah!" He smiles and takes a few steps to his right before gesturing his head toward the mountain wall. "Over there! He jumped up using these rocks to get to that ledge."

As the others approach the area Petrie takes a head start and flies up to survey the place. He hovers over the ledge and takes a look around, nothing suspicious to be found except for a cave.

"Littlefoot right!" Petrie shouts as he turns around to face the others below. "Cave right up here!"

Littlefoot nods with a smile. "That must be where the Longneck Biter went into!"

Cera turns her head to Littlefoot and arches an eyebrow at him. "And you expect us to go in after him? That Sharptooth tried to eat you! If we go in there we'll just run into him and we'll turn into his breakfast."

"Cera, he's probably long gone by now!" Littlefoot replies in his defense. "Besides, the other Longneck Biter came from around here too. If anything it must be him who lives in there, not the bad guys."

Cera narrows her eyes and turns her head away a bit. Littlefoot might have a point, but what if he's wrong? What if the bad guy really is up there and is just waiting for them to walk right into his home and devour them all? Cera has a bad feeling about this…

"Do not worry, Cera." Ducky starts as she walks up to Cera, looking up at her face. "Littlefoot might be right; the good Longneck Biter probably lives in there."

"Well what if it's not the good guy?" Cera snorts out in response.

But Ducky just smiled and replied. "Well we always have you to protect us."

Cera looks at Ducky with an arched eyebrow before realizing what Ducky had just said. At that moment she couldn't help but to grin smugly by the comment, feeling her pride escalate as she stood up tall and straight. Of course she's right, Cera thought, I can take on anything. After all, she's a Threehorn. "Heh, you're right!"

Littlefoot couldn't help but giggle to himself. Typical Cera. "We'll c'mon, let's go!" With that Littlefoot runs up to the wall and jumps on a boulder, using it as stairs to hop up to the left.

As Cera follows him Ducky realizes they're one head short, Spike. "Spike?" Ducky looks around and finds her big brother eating away at some bushes. Same ol' Spike. She runs up to him and tries to push him away from the bush. "Spike! Come on! We are being left behind!"

Spike struggles to keep his mouth within range of the bush, trying to continue eating. He grunts as he struggles, "Hungry!" Spike complains.

Ducky grunts and shakes her head. "How can you be hungry? You ate on the way here!"

As Ducky tried to get Spike to move Littlefoot hops from boulder to boulder and reaches the ledge. Cautiously he moves closer to the mouth of the cave and looks inside, not much to see inside other than darkness overpowering the long tunnel that stretches deep inside. He narrows his eyes a bit to try to see deeper inside through the darkness, but no luck.

"Ooh, very dark…" Petrie complains as he hovers over Littlefoot's head, also staring into the darkness of the cave.

"Yeah, I know…" Littlefoot comments in reply. In that kind of darkness anything can just jump out and take you by surprise. Courageously the young Longneck steps in, slowly making his way deeper into the cavern with Petrie extremely close to him. In fact he simply lands on Littlefoot's back and goes along for the ride, attempting to use his long neck as a barrier to hide his face in case something scares him.

As she was about to go in Cera looks over her shoulder and rolls her eyes as the usual attempt from Ducky to get Spike away from the bushes. "Hey!" She yells in her usual loud voice. "Are you two coming or what?!"

This caught Spike's attention. He dropped everything that he was doing and started in a run to catch up with the others with Ducky close behind.

While they caught up with Cera to get into the cave Littlefoot is struggling to watch where he's going in the cavern's deep darkness. With the tunnel's mouth furthering and furthering away behind him the illuminating light grows dimmer and dimmer. How deep this cave goes, he wondered. As he walks he feels Petrie's grasp around his neck tightening, the little guy must be getting more scared and jumpy the deeper they go.

As he gets deeper inside Littlefoot wonders what they'll find in the deep reaches of the tunnel. Maybe the Longneck Biter like he expects. Maybe nothing at all. Either way he couldn't stop himself from going deeper into the tunnel. The story of the Longneck Biters and their tunnels fascinated Littlefoot, and he wanted to see if the stories are true.

But this darkness isn't letting him see anything. "Gee, it's so dark…"

From behind Littlefoot could hear Cera snort. "Well what do you expect? It's a stupid cave! I can barely see my nose right in front of me…"

"Ow! Cera!"

"What?"

"You just bumped into me!"

"That wasn't me."

"Too dark! Too dark!"

"Oof! Spike?!"

"Wait, how did he get in front of me?"

"It is too dark! We cannot see where we are going. No no no…"

"Ow! I think I just stepped on a prickly thing…"

"This is so stupid! I can't believe I let you talk me into this, Littlefoot!"

"Hey, don't blame for thi-Whoa! Aaaaaah!!" During their whole bickering the gang of five didn't spot the hill up ahead of them and, thanks to the darkness, Littlefoot walked right into it. Losing his footing Littlefoot drops and falls, rolling down the hill and bumping into whatever rocks and pebbles are in the way. The darkness was too much that even Littlefoot's scream didn't warn the others in time to stop and down they all went with him.

In a few seconds it was all over as the gang landed hard below on their stomachs, dazed and hurt. With a groan Littlefoot slowly opens his eyes, seeing a well illuminated area. He slowly looks up at the hill they all rolled down from before looking up at the cave's roof, spotting a hole up high which illuminates the room with the Bright Circle.

Littlefoot slowly gets up with a grunt. "Ow…Is everyone all right?"

Cera slowly sits up with a bit of dirt on her face. She spits out some dirt and shakes her head. "Yeah…I like eating dirt after rolling downhill…"

As the gang get up on their feet they look around their surroundings. The area looks like a big circular room with two tunnels to go through. The hill they rolled down from is too steep to be able to climb back up, so they have no choice but to choose one of two directions. Either way, both roads lead to darkness once again and it's anyone's guess as to how deep they go.

"Which way, Littlefoot?" Petrie asks as he flaps over next to Littlefoot.

Littlefoot bobbles his head back and forth the two directions, wondering which to take. They both look the same, which makes it even harder to choose. "Ummm…" Littlefoot bites his lower lip, debating on the direction. "Thi-This way." He walks down the tunnel closest to him. Cera looks at Spike who returns the gaze before following the Longneck.

* * *

Vlad and Shino now stand at the edge of a plateau not too far off from Crescent Valley. They tried following a shadowy figure that they spotted from afar, but as quickly as it was spotted it disappeared somewhere in this region. Where though…That's the question.

"Bah, we lost it." Shino comments as he surveys the area. "This isn't as easy as I thought."

Vlad absently looks around, his mind not seem to be set on the hunt. He's still worried about Kedem, wondering if maybe he should've listened to him and stayed behind. The way Kedem tried to get him to stay, usually when that happens it's for a good reason. Kedem has a strong sense when something bad is about to happen and he's usually right. A worrier or coward, call him whatever you wish, but Kedem definitely knows when it's time to back off or stay away.

"Hey," Shino calls to Vlad, breaking him off from his train of thought. Vlad turns to Shino to see him point ahead. "You see what I see?"

Vlad looks over the direction he's pointing. There, far off and barely visible what seems to be a chain of mountains. Shino scratches the back of his head and wonders. "That can't be the Crescent Valley, right? I mean, I don't think we turned around or anything."

Vlad shrugs. "I don't know, probably just a random set of mountains. I mean, it's gotta be. What else could it be?"

A thought crosses Shino's mind, a thought which he couldn't help but smirk at. "Hey, maybe your Alimon is over there!"

Vlad shoots a glance toward Shino's direction, a comment which he couldn't help but nod at. It does sound plausible. Alimons seem like the kind of dinosaurs that would live in those kind terrains.

"Let's go check it out!" Shino suggests rather excitedly.

However, Vlad just crosses his arms. "I don't know. Isn't it kind of far from the valley? I mean, we could get lost."

"That's the fun of going on a hunt! The risk of getting lost and fighting for survival! C'mon Vlad, I thought you wanted to find and teach that Alimon who's boss!"

Vlad brings his gaze up to the sky, pondering on what to do. His mind is still with Kedem's attempt to get him to stay, but his desire is to find the Alimon and make her pay. He thinks of Kedem, his warning and guts to actually come up to their faces and tell them off. Then he thinks about the Alimon, how she stalked him, how she tried to kill him, how she taunted him…His anger increases, his eyes narrow dangerously. That Alimon…

"Okay." Vlad responds with a nod as he turns to Shino. "Let's go!"

Shino smirks at his friend's attitude. "All right! C'mon!" And with that Shino turns to the mountains and starts off in a run with Vlad close behind. Finally, the hunt he always wanted to go in.

But are they biting off more than they could chew?

Kedem seemed to think so as he raced up a mountain side hill on all four trying to find somebody. He still couldn't believe those two are actually doing such a stunt. To find an Alimon and actually try to hunt it? Kedem believes wholeheartedly the Alimon stories he's heard during his years of growing up in the valley.

"Hahh…hahh…Almost there…" Kedem panted as he neared the top, his heart racing as it tries to pump enough blood and heat through his body to keep him moving. He finally reached the top and finds a cavern entrance nearby, to which he ran up to and looked inside. This is supposed to be Vlad's sleeping place, but there's nobody home at the moment. Kedem felt a pressure to his stomach upon seeing it empty and dropped flat on his stomach, still breathing heavily from his race up the hill. What horrible luck, it'll take him forever to at least find the others. By then Vlad and Shino could be…

"Kedem?"

Upon hearing his name Kedem turned his head to his right, seeing a Dracovol has landed on the edge of the ledge and walking up to him. It's Blackpaw, the Guardian.

"Are you all right? I was watching out for the area and I saw you-" Seeing his troubled face Blackpaw couldn't help but frown. "What's with the long face? Is something wrong?"

Kedem slowly got up as he still pants from his run up the mountain side hill. "Hahh…Hahh…Blackpaw…Vlad…Shino…They…Hahh…Hahh…"

Blackpaw arched an eyebrow, this made him worry. "They what?"

* * *

Cera was getting restless. They've been walking for what felt like forever and they still haven't found anything. She began to think that this was just a waste of time. Longneck Biters…That's a good one, she thought with annoyance.

"At least these tunnels aren't too dark." Littlefoot comments as he's taking the lead and stopping in a wider area of the tunnel where it splits into three directions. The path has taken them up in an upward hill and a few turns, probably taking them to higher levels within the mountain walls.

Riding on his back Ducky looks down at her brother, seeing him growing weary with every step he takes. She lifts her head and looks at Littlefoot, "We have been walking forever and ever, going up and up and yet we have not seen any Longneck Biters."

"Maybe they're hiding from us…" Littlefoot coos as he looks down each tunnel, wondering which one to take.

Cera, always the impatient one, couldn't take it anymore and throws her head up shouting. "Come on out you Longneck Biters!!"

Everyone flinches at the sound of Cera's shout echoing. Petrie screams and hides behind Littlefoot's neck, anticipating something to jump out from the shadows due to Cera's shouting. Littlefoot jerks his head toward Cera with a glare. "Cera! What are you doing?!"

Cera returns the glare with one of her owns. "What does it look like I'm doing?! At this rate we'll find a way out of here before we even see anything!"

"That's no excuse to just shout like that! You could've scared them!"

"Oh and us just popping in like this wouldn't?!"

Petrie slowly opens his eyes as the two once again engage in an argument. He's startled when he spots some slight movement in the darkness of one of the tunnels. Is it a Longneck Biter?

"But what if the bad Longneck Biter lives down here! You could've given us away and put us in danger!"

"Well maybe you should've considered that before we've gotten in here!"

Ducky slightly turns her head away from the two arguing kids. She gasps when she saw something moving in the dark. They're not alone…

"At least we had a chance of getting away without being seen if it was one of the bad guys!" Littlefoot spits out in defense, still arguing with the Threehorn. "Now you already given us away and they could be looking for us!"

Ducky was starting to get nervous as she noticed some more movement in the darkness. Even Spike was getting unnerving as he too notices. "Uh, guys…"

Cera's eyes narrow even more, now giving a very deadly glare. "So what? It's not like we haven't been chased by Sharpteeth before!"

"Guys…" Petrie was next to try to get their attention, he too seeing and hearing things.

But they just kept arguing. "That doesn't even apply here! These things are different! We don't even know how smart they are!"

"Do you even hear yourself, Littlefoot?! Even if Longneck Biters exists they are Sharptooth! Sharptooth aren't smart!"

"Guys!" Petrie and Ducky shout at the same time.

To which Littlefoot and Cera responds by throwing their heads toward Ducky and Petrie. "What?!"

"We are not alone…" Ducky whispers to her friends in a very scared manner.

Cera arches an eyebrow. "What are you-" She stops cold on her words when she heard what sounded like a rock hitting against the cavern walls. Not able to figure out from which direction the sound came from the gang huddle up close to each other, their eyes set on each of the tunnels, waiting for something to show up. For a moment nobody spoke, their breathing the only sound they could hear. Littlefoot gulps as his throat went dry, his heart thumping fast and hard against his chest as it heaves.

Petrie landed on Spike's back and huddled close to Ducky as the two of them embrace in a hug, terrified of what could happen next. But as they waited, nothing happened. Was it just a random rock sound? Are their imaginations getting the best of them?

Cera snorts, she seems to think so. "OK. Sharptooth or not I'm getting out of here one way or another!" As she was about to get into the tunnel she chose something jumps out from the shadows and stands right in front of her, completely startling her as she screams and steps back.

The others looked over at Cera and screamed upon seeing the creature. Just like Littlefoot said, this creature vaguely resembles a Longneck. But this has got to be the most colorful Longneck they have ever seen, especially with the feathers from the back of their head down to the back of their neck. And seeing the claws and the teeth this one has, it's a Longneck Biter!

As soon as that Longneck Biter came two more of them jumped out from the other tunnels, now completely surrounding the gang; different colors and sizes, but with the same dangerous claws and teeth.

"What do we have here…?" One of them spoke, which obviously surprised the others.

"Looks like we got ourselves a group of intruders, bro." The second one adds.

Littlefoot gulps as the Longneck Biters are glaring at them. Not good, they have them cornered; they're easy pickings for them. He's now starting to regret on going into these caverns.

"Shall we dispose of them?" One of them asks with a slight smirk, which in return frightens the children even more.

"Not a claw on them." The one that cut Cera off commands. "Stone will have your head if you even so much as hurt them."

"So what do you expect us to do? We can't let them leave now that they know of our presence here and the caverns."

The one who cut Cera off, which is presumed to be the one in charge at the moment, eyes the children before looking back at his partners. "I'll let Stone know about this. You two know where to take these children."

The gang gulps as they huddle together; they are now in loads of trouble. As one of them leaves the other two Longneck Biters walk toward the children, leaving them with only one tunnel to go down to. "All right you kids, down this tunnel and no tricks."

With no other option for them to take, the gang couldn't do anything else but to follow orders and, with fear still controlling them, obey them and walk down the tunnel with the two Sharptooth following them from behind.

* * *

It is now late in the afternoon, but it felt like a whole day has passed since they were in the rocky region of the base of Threehorn Peak; dodging Fast Biters and other kinds of predators in the area. But they managed to survive. And now, as they take a bit of a break, they face their newest challenge.

"Here we are." Tanner announces as he takes a few steps forward, facing a chain of low mountains where smoke emits. "The place where mountains spit fire, the Fire Region as my pack calls it."

Rex gets up from his sitting position and walks to Tanner's side to look at the area. He could see a lot of mountains, some of them in an active state as smoke are rising from their craters. Rex wipes his forehead and pants a bit; from here he can feel the heat from those mountains.

Tanner pops his neck before going on his way forward. "Well, we better get moving if we want to get through this area before the Bright Circle goes down."

Terrel pants as he walks past Rex and falls down on a sitting position. "But I'm tired…Let me rest for a little more…"

Yu sighs as he walks up to Terrel and nudges him up with his snout. "C'mon Terrel, up on your feet. I'm not gonna leave you behind."

Terrel yelps from being nudged up to his feet, his feet are aching and his cousin isn't gonna hear another word from him. "Aww c'mon, Yu! I'm tired…"

"We have to keep moving." Yu looks down at his little cousin with a stern look. Terrel wanted to come along so now he's gotta keep up with them like an adult if he wants to be treated like a big guy now. But then Yu sighs as he rolls his eyes at the way Terrel was looking at him. "Reeex…!" Yu calls out in a whiny tone to his Dracovol friend for help.

Rex just smirks and looks back at Chomper who's currently giggling to himself and giving a shrug. "Don't drag me into it." Rex replies after turning his head back to Yu with a slight grin.

Yu frowns. Great, he's stuck in a corner. He turns to Terrel with a sigh. "Fine…" He lowers his head and gently clamps his jaws around Terrel and lifts him up, carrying him. "But this is the last time." He informs his little cousin before following Tanner, but with the little raplet in his mouth his statement was rather unintelligible.

As Rex watches the two Fast Biters moving off with Tanner he took notice of Chomper taking a few steps forwards, his eyes set on the volcano region in front of them as he looks at the area with deep thought.

"You okay?" Rex asks as he's concerned about the way Chomper is looking at the place.

Chomper looks back at Rex to respond. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?"

Chomper motions his head to the volcano region as he turns his head to look at them. "That place…"

"What about it?"

"Well, I know it." Chomper lowers his gaze to the ground as he continues. "You see, I told you how I hatched in the Great Valley and how I met Littlefoot and the others. Well, I remember how I accidentally bit Cera's tail, how I got scolded for doing so. It made me realize how different I was from them, and…Well, I kind of ran away…"

Rex stayed quiet. He could relate what Chomper was telling him. He remembers how a year ago he got into his Sharptooth side, how he wounded some innocent dinosaurs of the Great Valley. He felt isolated after learning what he could do. He recalls how he subconsciously ran away, going as far as to the Big Water southwest from the Great Valley, across a vast desert, quite a trip he did.

"I see…" Rex finally makes a sound. "And you ran away to this place?"

Chomper nods. "Yeah. I kept walking and walking until I found myself here. I didn't think Littlefoot and the others would follow me all the way here, but they did. They actually did…"

Rex smiled warmly. That sounds like Littlefoot all right, going after his friends to give them a helping paw. Back then Rex didn't believe it either how Littlefoot and the others went after him too when he ran away. It almost cost both Littlefoot and Cera's lives, but they didn't cared. All they wanted was their friend back.

"Anyway," Chomper turns to Rex with a smile, motioning his head to the mountains. "We better catch up to the others before they leave us behind!"

Rex smirks and nods. "Yeah, I can barely catch a whiff of Tanner's scent as it is!"

Before they moved they heard a faint shout of "I heard that!" from Tanner, which obviously made their blood run cold. "…That's so scary…" Chomper comments with his eyes wide.

Rex's eyes were pretty wide as well, completely baffled. "How did he…I mean…Is that even…?" After exchanging glances both of them shook off their shock and ran after their friends without saying anything else.

**Fire Region**

* * *

"Let us go!"

"Sorry, no can do, Threehorn."

"Please let us go. We are sorry we found your home without permission."

"Plead as much as you want, but I got orders to keep you in there."

Ducky sighs disappointedly as she gives up and walks back to Littlefoot and Spike. The two Longneck Biters took them extremely far into the tunnels and into other caverns before being shoved into this cave with no exits whatsoever. The only exit is being guarded by one Longneck Biter.

"Great…" Cera grumbles as she walks to the back of the cave where the others are. "How long until they decide to have us for dinner…"

Littlefoot was huddled in the back of the cave, his head down low in a sad manner. "This is all my fault…" He mutters to the others with his head down.

Ducky scoots over to Littlefoot and places a paw on his shoulder. "Aw, do not be sad, Littlefoot. You did not make us come here."

Littlefoot slowly opens his eyes with a sad look on his face. "Yeah but it was my idea to come here. Now look at us…"

Cera just rolls her eyes. "Aw pull it together, Littlefoot. We've been through worse situations before and we always pull through."

The Longneck Biter in guard grits his teeth from having to hear the kid's complaints. He despises having to hear little kids complaining about everything. "Hey! Would you kids keep it down in there?!" He shouts back at them in an attempt to keep them quiet.

Cera growls and turns to face the Longneck Biter who's guarding their only exit. "Hey! We can talk as loud as we want! Why don't you make us shut up?!"

The Longneck Biter growls and turns around to face the Threehorn. "Are you picking a fight, twerp?!"

With a smirk Cera snorts through his nose as she kicks up dirt with one of her forelegs. "What if I am?"

"Cera!" Littlefoot jumps up to his feet and runs in front of Cera to stop her. "Stop it!"

"No fighting! Please!" Petrie hollers as he circles around the Threehorn.

"C'mon! Let me at him! He started it!"

The Longneck Biter just smirks, a bit amused how the Threehorn's friends try to keep her at bay. If it was up to him he would've let the Threehorn fight him if she wished just to see her face when she's easily defeated, just for kicks.

"Are you bullying others again? Man, no wonder nobody likes you."

The Longneck Biter, apparently named Echo, turns around rather suddenly on hearing that statement and now faces another Longneck Biter. "Ke-Ken'ichi!"

The second Longneck Biter enters the chamber, a tall and strong looking one at that. Black skin with a white underbelly, his feathers all white along with white stripes from the back of his neck down to his tail. He walks up to the guard with a stern look. "Sometimes I wonder what's worse. Being kept away from any kinds of food for days or having you as a guard."

The Longneck Biter lowers his head with a bit of a growl, showing respect for his higher up. "These are the Leaf-Eaters?" Ken'ichi inquires as he steps closer to the chamber.

The guard Longneck Biter nods. "Yeah; we caught them wandering the tunnels in the outer perimeters."

The newcomer caught the interest of the gang as they turned their heads to him, all of them forgetting about Cera's desire to pick a fight with the Longneck Biter guard. Cera herself was a bit annoyed with this new one's attitude, probably thinking he's all tall and mighty.

Ken'ichi nods. "I see. You can go now." Ken'ichi waits until the Longneck Biter takes his leave before entering into the chamber where the gang is kept, though they're not welcoming the newcomer as they back away from him. "All right, I get the hint. Listen, we're not going to eat you. Far from it."

"Yeah right." Cera mutters with a roll of her eyes.

Littlefoot eyes the Longneck Biter and takes a step forward. "What are you going to do to us then?"

Ken'ichi eyes down at the Longneck. He remembers him from the times he used to patrol around the mountaintops of the valley. He recalls how he always spots him playing with his friends, who are all present in this very cave. "That's all up to our leader to decide, kid."

"Your leader?" Ducky echoes as she's standing close to her big brother with an arm around one of his forelegs.

Ken'ichi nods. "Yeah, I'm supposed to take you all to him for a little meeting."

"Don't you mean early dinner?" Cera remarks with a bit of a glare, which did nothing but welcomed a light elbow from Littlefoot. "Cera…!"

Ken'ichi just rolls his eyes; he was never good with children, especially with teenagers such as these kids. "Look, I was told to get you kids to the meeting chamber. I assure you nobody is going to harm you or your friends."

The gang looks at each other. Should they trust a Sharptooth? They're well aware of how many dangers and situations they've gotten through because of Sharpteeth, but on the other paw they have gotten through some good times with some Sharptooth as well. After all, not all Sharptooth are bad, right? Littlefoot looks at Spike who is just sporting his usual happy-go-lucky smile and carefree face. This made Littlefoot smile a bit; if anything, Spike always knew when to spot good or bad situations first before anyone, so the look on his face at the moment is a welcomed sight.

Littlefoot looks at Cera. The Threehorn fumbles with a pebble with her paw, trying to avoid any eye contact. But it was in vain, she knew all eyes were on her. "What?!" She cries as she sees her friends looking at her. "I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" She looks back and forth between Ken'ichi and her friends, juggling between her two choices. In the end she sighs, giving in. "Oh all right…What other choice do I have."

Littlefoot turns his head to Ken'ichi, apparently starting to get impatient. "Um, okay then. I guess we'll see your leader then."

As if they had a choice, Ken'ichi thought to himself. "All right then, you guys are to follow me. And no separating from me; I don't want to have to search the entire area looking for you all."

The gang just nodded; even if they did get away from him they wouldn't find their way out anyway. As Ken'ichi lead the way the gang of Leaf-Eaters followed him through the cool and damp paths of this surprisingly hidden cave system. At first there was nothing much to see, just a long pathway down the tunnel Ken'ichi is leading them, a few forks in the way, not much to see.

But then, just as they got deeper and deeper into the tunnels, they have gotten closer and closer to the main area of this complex cavern system. The gang was surprised and amazed when they basically reached the 'heart' of the place. A huge chamber riddled with tunnels, different kinds of Longneck Biters were everywhere; young and old, big and small, colorful and bland, males and females; they were numerous!

"Wow…" Littlefoot was amazed, the stories were true! There are Longneck Biters living within the numerous caves in the Great Valley's mountains.

"There're so many…" Cera commented as she too was amazed at the numbers of them. She didn't want to admit it, but she was impressed and intrigued.

Ducky's head bobbled this way and back as she takes in the sight. "Big and small, cute and ugly; a lot of Longneck Biters! Yup yup yup!"

Littlefoot starts to frown upon noticing most of the Longneck Biters were looking at them, as if they were complete strangers and new to the world. With them living so close to the Great Valley you'd expect them to behave like they were nothing special to look at.

"Why are they looking at us funny?" Cera was the one to ask about the Longneck Biters looking at them strangely.

Ken'ichi looks around, taking note of his comrades' faces. He stops walking for a moment and gives them all a look which gave them the hint, making them all return to what they were doing. "Hmph…We never get any visitors from the Great Valley…We're not even supposed to let the inhabitants know or see about us unless it's an extreme emergency." He turns his head and looks down at Littlefoot, "Like in your case, what happened yesterday."

Littlefoot blinks, looking quite surprised to hear that this Longneck Biter knows what happened yesterday. "How did you know?"

Ken'ichi chuckles as he turns around and continues leading the children to the meeting chamber. "Like I said, this is my pack. We work together to survive and find our food. Everything we do we must make sure the others know."

"That is a good idea. It is it is."

Littlefoot couldn't help but smile as they continue to follow Ken'ichi. Despite being surrounded by a numerous amount of Meat Eaters, he felt safe here, he felt that he could trust them and they wouldn't allow any harm come to them. It wasn't long after that they reached the chamber Ken'ichi mentioned earlier, the biggest one the gang have seen yet!

It was pretty big for a lot of Longneck Biters to get into, and up ahead they could see an elevated part of the ground, good enough to use as an altar of sorts where you can stand on and look over at the huge group in front.

"Wow…" Littlefoot mutters in awe at the look of the place. The gang looks up at the same time to spot a hole on the roof where you can see the great big sky as sunshine showers down. "It's kind of hard to believe all of this is inside the protective walls of the Great Valley…" Littlefoot comments.

"You can say that again." Cera adds.

"So these children are the ones who were found wandering about."

The children move their attention to the altar in front of them. Sitting there is a grey Longneck Biter with red claws and grey feathers. The Longneck Biter looks at the children with a smile; "Come forth, children. You're safe here."

The gang slowly approached to the altar, wondering what's about to happen. As they approach the Longneck Biter they notice another one by his side, a black one with a blue underbelly and feathers along with blue stripes from the back of his neck down to his tail. This one looked intimidating compared to the grey one.

"Uhh…Hello." Littlefoot speaks out as he slowly approaches with his friends. "I'm uhhh…I'm Littlefoot, and these are-"

"Cera, Ducky, Spike and Petrie." The grey one interrupts Littlefoot with a sincere smile. "Yes, I am familiar with you all."

The gang gasps in shock. This Longneck Biter knows their names! Even knew who to look at in corresponding to the names. This has now officially gotten extremely scary.

"He know our names!" Petrie comments as he now hovers close to Spike and Ducky.

"How do you know our names?!" Cera spits out, demanding to know. "You even knew who to look at!"

Stone just laughs. "I wasn't surprised upon hearing you five found and entered our chambers." He stands up and takes a few steps toward the right while still facing the gang. "Of course, I wasn't expecting it to be this easy, especially the climb you all must've done to get in here."

Littlefoot blinks; he doesn't recall the five of them making a climb to get into the caves. It was just a hop and a jump away, literally. "Actually, we just jumped over a few boulders and found the cave."

Stone stops in his tracks and abruptly turns to face the gang again. "You want to run that by me one more time?"

The sudden turn startled him, but Littlefoot bravely repeated himself. "We found the cave by jumping up to it by a couple of boulders. It wasn't that hard at all."

"Oh yes, it was rather easy to get to it." Ducky adds.

"And for being this good at hiding, you may want to do something about that entrance." Cera adds in with a smirk just to smite them.

The comment from Cera didn't go too well with the gang as they all shot a glance at her. This also didn't go too well with the black and blue Longneck Biter as he took a step forward and stretched his neck out to get closer to the Threehorn, glaring at her right in the eye. "Excuse me, little bigmouth! But around here we have a little rule where we pay the leader of the pack with some respect! Am I making myself clear here?!"

Normally this would be the point where Cera would make a comeback, but in this case it just didn't come to her. She just stood there looking at the Longneck Biter in the face with not a glare but with a face that clearly expresses that she has just been intimidated. "C-Crystal…"

As the black and blue Longneck Biter leans back and backs up the grey Longneck Biter motions him to come with him for a moment. "Excuse us for a moment." The grey one declares to the gang before turning to his comrade to talk about something.

"Talk about scary…" Littlefoot comments about the black and blue Longneck Biter before turning to Cera, who's still standing there as if paralyzed. "He shut you up pretty fast."

Cera breaks out from his paralyzed state and gives off a bit of a glare. "Hmph, I let him off easy." She turns her head away from the altar with a smug look on her face, her cockiness returning. "I just didn't want to see the look on his face if I talked back, that's all."

Petrie giggled as he began to fly around Cera. "Admit it. Cera got beaten. Cera got beaten." He began to chant in an annoying manner, seeing it as gold that Cera got shut up by the Longneck Biter, something that you rarely see.

Cera began to grit her teeth and suddenly lashed out at Petrie with her paw to stop him from circling around her head. "Quit it!" Her swats missed but Petrie took the hint and stopped his teasing and flew back to Ducky and Spike.

While the gang is up to their usual teasing and talks the two Longneck Biters are discussing something important about what Littlefoot told them.

"It must be them…"

"But, sir. Are they wise enough to even think about such a plot?"

"Donovan, we all made sure our caverns exit at the highest points of the mountains they could be to avoid anyone to find our home. Now, as far as I know we are capable of climbing that far up."

"Well yes, that's true but…"

"I have a feeling they managed to dig up such a tunnel on our blind spots to access the Great Valley. Gather your best warriors and investigate this area. Seal it if you must."

"Understood. But what about the Leaf Eaters?"

The grey Longneck Biter looks back at the children before answering. "Leave that to me."

The black and blue Longneck Biter, Donovan, nods and leaves after stopping by along side Ken'ichi. "I trust you'll be by Stone's side while I am away."

Ken'ichi tenses up at the order and nods. "Yes, of course."

After Donovan takes his leave, the grey Longneck Biter, Stone, walks back to the gang to continue his meeting with them. He looks down at them as his return caught their attention; he knows they have a lot of questions in their minds. But first, he must set some words on them. "Now, I'm quite positive you all have questions on your mind."

"Yeah, we do." Littlefoot takes a step forward. "We heard stories about you guys and…Well, how long have you been here, how have you managed to stay a secret to the entire valley, how…How…" He was kidding himself; he knows the most important question he has in his mind. "Who and what _are _you guys?!"

Stone couldn't help but laugh; the curiosity of a child, always the most important and best questions. He stops his laughing and looks at the gang with a firm look, indicating that he is now about to enter in a serious discussion. "All good questions, young ones…But, I'm afraid I cannot give you the answers just like that…"

"What?!" Cera takes two steps forward, a bit peeved after hearing what this Longneck Biter just said. "We've been caught and made us walk all the way over here and you're saying you-"

A bit tired of this Littlefoot turns his head to Cera with a glare, interrupting her. "Cera, that's enough!" Cera returned the glare but cooperated and stayed quiet.

"But why can you not tell us?" Ducky was the one to ask politely.

Stone looks at each one of the gang as he expresses his reasons. "Our reasons are quite simple. We must be wary with the inhabitants of the Great Valley. If they were to learn of our existence they would not understand and chase us away."

Littlefoot frowns. "Oh, that's why." Understandable reason, they all recall how Mr. Threehorn, Cera's father, have done so before in trying to get rid of Sharpteeth from the valley. If he finds out about these Sharpteeth living so close to the valley he would try to get rid of them for sure.

"But you can tell us." Ducky declares with one of her smiles. "We won't tell anybody." She smiles and looks down at her brother. "Right, Spike?" Spike smiles and nods in agreement.

Stone chuckles. "Such honest words, little one. But with you all already well aware of us, the damage is already done." He takes one good look at each of them once again before continuing. "Can I trust each and every one of you to keep all of this in secrecy? To lock all that you have learned here with us deep in your hearts and not go any further than you five?"

"Sir," Ken'ichi approaches to Stone and stands by his side, just like how Donovan trusted him to. "With all due respect, is it wise to allow them to know more than they already know?"

Stone nods at the young Longneck Biter. "I am aware of the consequences if we are to be discovered by the inhabitants, but I'm sure these children will keep their word." He turns back to the gang once again. "Are you five capable of such secrecy?"

"Of course we are." Ducky responds for them all. "We are capable of such secrecy. We are we are!"

Petrie nods repeatedly as he hovers over in front of Stone. "Me too! Petrie keep secret good!"

Littlefoot nods in agreement with a smile. "Of course we are."

"I won't tell if they won't." Cera comments with her usual look as she motions her head to her friends.

Stone chuckles, happy to hear such words. "Well said, children. As of now, you are now honorary guests to the Rock Rangers." He then turns his head to the black Longneck Biter standing next to him. "Ken'ichi my boy, show them around. If they are to stay for a while then at least familiarize them to our home."

Ken'ichi nods. "Of course."

* * *

"Argh, I'm not going to make it…" Chomper collapses, his tongue hanging out as he pants, out of breath and seemingly dehydrated. "Go on without me…I'm finished…!"

Rex stops and turns around, arching an eyebrow as he takes notice of the drama show behind him with Chomper. "Um…Chomper? We're not even that deep into the place."

"We're not even halfway through the place." Tanner informs the little T-Rex Sharptooth. And he's right, they have only been walking for about ten or twenty minutes and they have just begun to feel the increased heat wave of the place. "So get up and keep walking before we leave you behind."

Chomper gets up to his feet with a grumble. "Well _sorry, _but I haven't gotten a drink of water since yesterday and I'm thirsty!" He starts walking to keep up with the others, his tongue hanging out as he's not dehydrated but thirsty. "I really hope we find water around here…"

Rex looks at his surroundings as they keep on walking, seeing nothing but dirt, rocks, and mountains that are at the moment spitting out nothing but smoke. If anything, the last thing they'll find here is water. "I wouldn't get my hopes up anytime soon."

As they keep on walking the ground under them suddenly begins to rumble, nearly making them all lose their footing. A second rumble soon comes after the first one, much stronger than the last. This one trips Yu to the ground, dropping Terrel from his mouth and having the little raplet roll forward and ending on his stomach.

"Ow…" Yu shakes his head and looks around after the rumble has stopped. "What was that?"

Upon regaining his footing Tanner stands tall and looks around, his eyes set on every mountain's smoke as if looking for some sign, any sign that could indicate an eruption. "Probably might've been a hiccup from the mountains."

Rex also looks around, nervous about what might happen next if another earthshake starts up. "Maybe we should just hurry up and get past here before anything else happen."

"Sounds good to me…" Chomper catches up to the others, his tongue still hanging out of his mouth and panting. "The faster we get past here the better."

Tanner nods in agreement and keeps on moving with the others close behind. As they get deeper and deeper into the area the heat around them increases, smoke begins to become a challenge to their visibility and the level of oxygen begins to slightly decrease the deeper they go in. Chomper said he knows this place, but around this section of the region he is unfamiliar with.

As the heat was slowly beginning to take their tolls on the gang they began to hear the faint sounds of roars and grunts, the sounds of a struggle up ahead. This caught the attention of Rex as the sounds began growing louder and louder as they kept on moving. "Hey, do you guys hear that?"

Tanner remains unfazed as he keeps on moving. "Yeah, what about it?"

Rex looks up as he keeps hearing the sounds, recognizing one roar as a cry of pain. "Sounds like someone's in trouble."

Yu turns to his Dracovol friend. "Um, Rex? No offense, but this is the Mysterious Beyond. You're bound to find these kinds of things every now and then. Remember?"

In a second a sudden cry for help breaks the momentary silence, startling everyone but Tanner. "Ah! See! Someone _is _in trouble!" Rex spits out.

"And you want us to do something about it?" Tanner arches an eyebrow at the thought and shakes his head. "I hope you haven't forgotten all that you went through in the Mysterious Beyond, but this is how life out here is; to hunt others for food."

"Is there a rule anywhere that says you can't help those that are being hunted in the Mysterious Beyond?"

"Well…No but…" But before Tanner could even finish Rex runs past him. "Hey! Wait a minute! You just can't…!" He's then caught off guard as Chomper runs past him to follow Rex. "Huh?! Not you too! I thought you were thirsty!"

Chomper grins as he looks back at Tanner as he runs. "Well all this sudden excitement chased it away!"

Tanner was about to say something but then he nearly fell to the ground in disbelief as Yu too runs after them. "Hey you guys! Wait up! I'm helping too!"

Tanner stands there unable to believe these three would just up and go and ruin another Sharptooth's hunt. He knows those three are just too good for their own good and will help just about anyone, but this is just absurd in a Sharptooth's book. He hears something and looks down to spot Terrel standing next to him, and by the look on his face he seems to be considering in going after them. "Aw man…Not you too…"

"Huh?" Terrel looks up and notices Tanner looking at him. "Oh, no. I'm just here because Yu told me to stay with you."

Tanner flinches. He's going to babysit…?

* * *

They were in trouble. They knew they were in trouble. The moment they heard those screeches and the sudden running footsteps they knew they were in trouble.

They were just two Meat Eaters trying to pass this region without any trouble; to get to the area they decided to go, to be together for a while to rest before heading out again. But now, as they are stuck with an enemy cornering them wanting to make a meal out of them, it seems that this would be their permanent resting place.

"Help!!"

"Silence, get back!"

A grey dinosaur with two little horns and grey stripes from the back of his head down to his thighs stands in a defense stance, protecting a yellow raptor with grey stripes on her back. The grey dinosaur flinches a bit as he's struggling not to collapse, cuts and wounds riddling his legs and shoulders. He snarls and snaps at their attacker, trying to keep it at bay and away from the raptor.

Their predator is what in modern times is called an Afrovenator, an eight foot tall and fifteen foot long Sharptooth. It screeches as it tries to make food out of these two Sharpteeth, but with the angry Sharptooth in the way it can't even get near the yellow raptor.

"Silence! You have to get out of here!" The grey Meat Eater commands to his raptor partner. "I'll hold him off!"

The raptor, Silence, just shook her head. "No! I won't leave you behind!"

"Darn it, girl! You gotta get out of here, now!"

"Not without you!"

The Sharptooth growls and curses Silence's persistence on about not leaving him behind. This is no time for her to be hanging onto him…

The predator snarls and rears back, about to attack the two Meat Eaters head on. But what looked like the end for them the predator stops and sniffs the air, something got his attention. It hears something behind it and turns around, spotting three Sharpteeth running toward him and stopping a few feet away from them looking as if wanting to pick a fight.

"Wha-What the…?" The grey Sharptooth was flabbergasted. What are those three Sharptooth think they're doing? A Fast Biter, a T-Rex Sharptooth, and a third light-blue one he's unfamiliar with.

"Hey! You two okay?!" The Fast Biter shouts at the two cornered Sharptooth.

"We'll hold him off! You two get away!" The light-blue one shouts at them.

The Afrovenator screeches and turns around to face the newcomers. It snarls and exposes its teeth as it drools and flexes its claws, ready to shred them apart. Yu takes a step back a bit intimidated, and to be truthful he has never seen this kind of Sharptooth before. "Okay…This guy's too scary…"

"Just grab at his tail." Rex and Yu turn their heads to Chomper who's facing at this Sharptooth with deep courage, not a hint of fear in his face. "I heard from my mom and dad that these Sharptooth hate getting their tails grabbed. Just bite into it and see them chase their own tail."

"Worth a shot," Rex comments. He moves his gaze to the Sharptooth and gasps as it's charging for them. "Look out!"

The Sharptooth jumps to bite onto them but the three of them scatter away, making the Sharptooth land on nothing but on the ground and snapping its teeth together. Chomper looks up and notices his luck as the Sharptooth's tail is right there in front of him. With a devilish grin Chomper jumps and chomps his razor sharp teeth down into the tail, causing the Sharptooth to roar out in pain as the little one applies pressure into his bite.

Rex gets up and sees how the Sharptooth doesn't seem to like having its tail bitten. It moves its tail wildly and tries to bite at the little Sharptooth biting into his tail. Humorously, the Sharptooth is chasing its tail like how a modern dog chases its own. And Rex would be laughing at the sight of this if his friend wasn't in danger of getting bitten and torn off of the tail. Rex sees an opening to the Sharptooth's neck and goes for it, running close to it and jumps for it. He manages to latch onto the Sharptooth's neck and sink his teeth into it, making the Sharptooth roar in even more agony.

The Sharptooth trashes its head trying to get Rex off who's struggling to keep latched onto the Sharptooth's neck, his feet barely dragging along the ground as the Sharptooth is just a couple of feet taller than him.

As for Yu he picks his spot wisely and attacks, jumping on the Sharptooth's back and sinking his teeth into the back of the Sharptooth's neck, his usual target when hunting. The Sharptooth's eyes widen as it's now choking, blood starting to accumulate in its throat and threatening to suffocate it. It needs to get them off.

It trashes its head much more wildly now to which for Rex was too much and his grip slips. He falls hard onto the ground, hurting his back. The Sharptooth snarls in pain as its neck is now free of the extra pain, but now it growls and turns its attention to Chomper, who's still on his tail. It snarls and swings its tail this way and that, making Chomper's grip on the tail all the more painful but on its way to give out. The trashing was too much and Chomper goes flying, landing hard on the ground and skidding across it.

Yu slowly opens one eye upon feeling the Sharptooth has stopped its trashing. Is it dead? He lets go of his grip and looks and finds out to his dismay that the Sharptooth is very much alive as it turned its head and it's now staring at him. "Uh-oh…"

The Sharptooth snarls and opens its mouth, ready to snag the Fast Biter and tear him to shreds. But then a red dinosaur runs in and jumps for the Sharptooth's neck, slashing it wide open with its razor sharp claws. The Sharptooth couldn't even roar out in agony as its wind pipe was slashed deeply, immediately cutting off its breathing capabilities. As it buckled and wobbled Yu took this chance to get off of the thing and run away before it collapsed, its last view of the living world was the sight of the red dinosaur that dealt the finishing blow.

"Are you guys okay?" Tanner asks to his friends after making sure the Sharptooth was dead.

Rex groaned as he rubbed his back. "Yeah, sure…Nothing broken…"

Chomper slowly walked to the others before collapsing on a sitting position, a little drop of blood from his nose when he landed on his face from being thrown off. He spits out a bit of soil and dirt, his face expressing deep disgust. "Yeah…I enjoy the taste of dirt around here…"

"Well I'm fine." Yu simply states. Of course he's fine; he didn't get thrown off or anything.

"Heh," Tanner smiles a bit; these three kids aren't bad at all. He looks around and spots two Sharptooth, a grey and a yellow one. "Ah, so you two were the ones in need of help."

The yellow raptor slowly approaches her saviors, a smile of gratitude on her face. "Thank you so much for coming to our rescue."

"Silence, get away from them!" The grey dinosaur scolds as he limps over to Silence, his eyes dead set on the group. "This could be a trick they're pulling."

"That's a mean way to say thanks to the ones who saved your life!" Terrel shouts as he shows up to the scene, apparently he witnessed everything. "If it wasn't for Yu you two would've been dead by now!" He continues as he runs up to his cousin.

The grey one gives Terrel a look. "And who do you think you are to tell me that? My father? You don't even fit the role for a little brother!"

"Hey!" Terrel growls at the grey Sharptooth. "Don't call me little!!"

"Oh yeah? Then how do you think of yourself?" The grey one smirks with a glare. "I mean look at you down there! You're like Smally McSmall." He then narrows his eyes with a grin. "That's your name."

"Dice!" The grey dinosaur flinches from being scolded by Silence. "How can you treat a little raplet like that! That's no way to treat them after they saved us!"

The grey dinosaur, Dice, practically melted with how Silence was scolding him. He lowers his head in shame at her. "All right all right…Sorry about that, raplet…"

Silence turns to the group with an apologetic smile. "You have to forgive Dice; he kind of has an attitude problem."

Rex scratches his chin after seeing such an event unfold in front of him. "So we noticed."

Terrel keeps on glaring at Dice as he tries to hide from him by getting behind Yu's leg. "Don't give me that look, raplet." Dice speaks out as he sees Terrel glaring at him. "I told you I was sorry!"

Terrel moves his glare away from Dice and looks up at his cousin. "I don't like him…"

Another one to the list, Dice thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. He looks to his side and notices Silence giving him a look to which he sighs and looks at the group. "Thanks for saving us…But, why?"

Rex grinned as he rubbed his nose. "Do we need a reason to help others?"

Tanner could only chuckle at Rex's comment. He was right; helping others is something you feel in your heart, what your gut tells you to do. Sure it's rare for someone to spontaneously help others without much of a reason, but it's an action that makes everyone a better person and a better place for everyone. It surprised him at first how Rex would help anyone who wishes so in the Mysterious Beyond, a place where it's basically every dinosaur for themselves. But as he got to know him, he learned that this trait is something he was born with, he just can't help seeing others who ask for help in trouble.

"Well we can't thank you enough for the help." Silence admits with a smile. Dice tried his best but it seemed like smiling wasn't much of his forte.

"So where were you two going?" Yu asks.

"What's it to you?" Dice spits out in response. Silence nudges him a bit in an attempt to get him to behave better than this, to which Dice gives in almost immediately. "We're following an old way we both know to an old place I used to go every once in a while. Thought of showing Silence the place where I used to drop in every now and then."

"But then that Sharptooth cornered us and then you all came to help." Silence looks at each one of them before continuing. "And especially the little blue one. He was brave to bite into the tail like he did." She tried to find the one she means, but he's nowhere to be seen. "Say, where is the little one?"

The group looks at each other and realizes that Chomper is missing. "Chomper?" Rex calls out to him. They soon hear chomping sounds behind them to which they turn around to check. As they figured out the source of the sound they all react in disgust. Chomper is activately feasting on the Sharptooth they just fought.

"Aw yuck!" Rex exclaims in disgust.

"Chomper!" Yu gags as little Terrel is covering his face behind Yu's leg.

"Where are your manners?!" Tanner exclaims as he shakes his head at the way Chomper is ferociously eating.

"I can't help it!" Chomper says between chomps and gulps. "I've never eaten this kind of meat before and it tastes so good!"

"Goodness…" Silence mutters as she shakes her head and turns her head away in disgust.

Dice however was grinning as if he's watching a friend devouring in an all-you-can-eat buffet. "Wow, you got some stomach! That's it! Bite into that thing! Tear it to shreds!"

"At least it won't go to waste…" Rex says in a sarcastic tone. He looks up to the sky, barely able to see the blue through all the smoke and ash.

* * *

It's been a bit of a walk since they finished their little talk with Stone, but that bit of a walk turned out to be a tiring and tedious one for the gang of five. Not completely used to these kinds of terrains, the gang had to put up against a few tunnels leading upward and some dark and rocky ones.

"Really, how do you guys live in all this?" Cera inquired; annoyed with all the pebbles she's stepping on and all the darkness in these cavers.

"You get used to it," Ken'ichi simply replied with. "It's not that bad, really."

Littlefoot remained quiet as he followed the black Longneck Biter with the rest of his friends. He has a lot of questions he wants to ask; so much he wants to learn from these creatures. Like how do they live, what do they eat, how long have they been living in these caverns.

"All right, speak up." Littlefoot blinked and looked at the Longneck Biter leading them down the tunnel. "C'mon, Longneck. I know you're itching to throw some questions at me."

Littlefoot slowly nods. "Well yeah, I do…"

Ducky nods the same. "Oh yes, we do have a lot of questions!" She looked down at Spike. "Right, Spike?"

"Yup!" Spike blurted out; one of those very rare times he mutters a word.

Ken'ichi couldn't help but chuckle. "All right," He stops his walking as they entered a rather big chamber with two exits, one of them being from where they came from. "I guess this is as good a place as any. Make yourselves at home."

The gang walked after Ken'ichi into the chamber and spread out a bit, looking around. A few slash marks here and there on the walls and ground, not much to look at. "Where are we?" Cera inquires.

"Look like sleeping place to me." Petrie comments as he hovers around the place.

"That's because it is," Ken'ichi speaks out as he walks to a specific spot of the chamber and sits. "In short, my sleeping place."

Ducky jumped down from Spike's back and walks up into the other exit in the chamber, just wondering where this one goes. She was slightly surprised to find that after a quick corner she saw light at the end of the tunnel, meaning the surface is not too far ahead. "Oh!" She exclaimed as she turned around and returned to the others. "You sleep close to the outside! You do! You do!"

Ken'ichi chuckled. "Of course I do. Most of the time I'm rather busy with some things so I have to be close to the outside in case I'm needed in a pinch." He took notice of Littlefoot sitting in front of him, his eyes on him. "All right, go ahead. I know what you want."

"Well…" Littlefoot starts but holds back, he just doesn't feel comfortable about just blurting out his questions like that. To him it's rude, being treated well and even being shown around the place and just going to a Longneck Biter's face and asking a number of questions just like that.

"Don't hesitate kid, you're within friends here." Ken'ichi assured with a friendly smile.

Littlefoot saw Ken'ichi's smile and smiled back, seeing the Longneck Biter's smile made him feel more at ease, not to mention it reminded him of his Sharptooth friends. "Okay. Well, I want to know everything about you and your kind, how you got here, how long have you been here. Everything."

"Heh," Ken'ichi couldn't help but smirk at the Longneck's list of what he wants to learn. Wow, that's a lot of history and tours. He suddenly felt like a teacher getting ready to pull out the books and begin the school day with the whole gang sitting in front of him waiting for the history.

"All right. Well, I guess I'll start with how long we have been here." He scratches his head as he tries to recall the lessons and stories he was told when he was little. So much backtracking through time, this might be tough.

_Okay, it all started a long time ago, way before I was born, even before our oldest pack members were born. Back then the Sharpteeth were dominant, destroying and eating any Leaf-Eater that came in their way, you could say it was a Leaf-Eater's worst nightmare. They couldn't take a few steps without being attacked and eaten._

_Back then the Great Valley was just any other valley; Sharpteeth would go in and take down anything inside. Openings and craters would just invite the Meat-Eaters in for an easy snack when the Leaf-Eaters never expect it. Not even the Leaf-Eater paradise was safe._

_But then, one day, a sole Sharptooth showed up, placed her eyes on the valley and made a choice. She was known as Shakti, the very first of our kind. As the numbers of her kind grew she banded them together and helped create what would today be known as the Great Valley. She, along with the rest of her kind, made a pact, a law, that they would protect the inhabitants of the Great Valley from any kind of invaders. They would only hunt outside of the valley for their food and protect the ones inside it._

_This law was kept and passed down for generations. And to this day, Shakti and her pack are still remembered and honored as we all continue to withhold this law she established years ago as she now watches over us all from the stars above…_

As Ken'ichi finished Ducky giggled. "That is a good story! It is! It is"

"Wait just a minute!" Cera spoke out, sounding as if she just heard something odd about the story. "Are you telling me you have been living here since the Great Valley existed?"

"More or less," Ken'ichi responds with a shrug. "That's what I was taught when I was a kid."

Cera arches an eyebrow; to her this doesn't make much sense. "If that's true, then how come we haven't seen tail or hide from your kind when we first got here into the Great Valley? In fact, we have been in and out of the Great Valley lots of times and we've never seen you around!"

"Cera," Littlefoot whispered to his Threehorn friend. "Don't you remember what the leader of the pack said? They have to hide otherwise they could be driven out by us."

"Well yeah but they can't be that good at hiding."

"What if they are?"

Cera stays quiet, Littlefoot does have a point. What if they are this good at hiding? To never even notice them being watched over by this pack and not even seeing them around when they hunt in the Mysterious Beyond. No doubt about it, these Sharpteeth are smart, completely different from the ones they always find in the Mysterious Beyond.

"Okay, so you guys are good at what you're doing." Cera comments after turning her head to Ken'ichi. "I'll give you that. But what about that Longneck Biter that Littlefoot said attacked him? Not exactly easy to resist hunting the valley, now is it?"

"Cera!" Littlefoot scolded as he shot a glare at Cera.

Cera turned her head to Littlefoot with a glare of her own. "Aw c'mon, Littlefoot! These Longneck Biters are the only ones here! I'm telling you one of these guys were the ones that tried to eat you yesterday!"

Ken'ichi sighs. "Well technically, the Threehorn is right."

The gang pretty much gasped after hearing that. Cera on the other hand gave a triumphant grin. "Ah-ha! See?! He admits it! I bet your pack is getting tired of following the rules, huh?"

Ken'ichi lowered his head with a glare, snarling lightly at Cera. "You better hold your tongue, girl. We keep the laws and the story close to our hearts and giving that attitude to the wrong person could cost you dearly."

Cera brings her head back a bit as Ken'ichi gives such a dangerous look at her, it almost seems like he'll lunge for her at any second. She better stay quiet, after all she has made a few smart comments and she's pretty much on hot water if she goes on.

Ducky was getting worried from Ken'ichi's last comment. She takes a few steps toward Ken'ichi to ask. "Um, mister Longneck Biter? What did you mean when you said Cera was right?"

Ken'ichi looked down at Ducky as she spoke. He couldn't help but frown a bit; perhaps he slipped his tongue by telling them that. But maybe they do have a right to know, since they made it this far and are now practically, in a way, a part of the pack.

"All right, what I mean is…" He nods to the gang, getting ready to speak. "The one that attacked your friend here was not on our side." He sees the confused look on the gang before continuing. "We are not the only pack of our kind that exists. Outside, out there in the Mysterious Beyond there are a number of us, just roaming about. One pack in particular is out there, probably planning as we speak."

_You see, this pack is called the Darkarians. They are a pack of evil Longneck Biters as you call us. Their beliefs are that we are nothing more but a perfect killing machine with the right to slaughter anything and everything we want._

_Their goal is to get rid of us and infiltrate the Great Valley, to turn it into the perfect hunting grounds for food, fun, and pleasure._

Ken'ichi gives a sight as he slightly lowers his head. "Most of them were Longneck Biters from our pack. Some of them are just new members from the Mysterious Beyond who shares the same beliefs." He stops as he takes notice of the gang starting to get afraid of what he just said. He forgets that he's talking to Leaf-Eaters who live in the Great Valley, safely away from predators and any other dangers. Sure they've come up against a lot of dangers before, but this is completely different. He's talking about an entire pack of predators infiltrating the valley and taking them down in no time.

Ken'ichi gave a little chuckle and smiled. "Nothing to worry about though, we've been through this before and they never did make it through."

Littlefoot saw Ken'ichi's smile and felt more at ease as he smiled himself. Indeed hearing about a second pack of evil Longneck Biters plotting to take over the valley and devour them all is terrifying and all, it does bring a heart at ease to hear that this pack is protecting them with their lives.

"So when you really come down to it we're just like any other pack trying to survive." Ken'ichi continues as he gets up, stretching his legs out to rid of them of their numbness.

"It just sounds so fascinating." Littlefoot comments. "To live in these mountains for so long and none of us have noticed even once…"

"It make Great Valley sound more safe and impenetrable!" Petrie adds as he flaps over to Littlefoot.

"Oh yes! I am glad you all are here to protect us!" Ducky comments next with a smile. "It makes me feel much safer at night!"

"I still find this all too hard to believe." Cera mutters with a slight glare.

"So who was that grey Longneck Biter we saw back there?" Littlefoot asked with curiosity. "Was that the leader of your pack?"

Ken'ichi nods with a smile. "Yup, that's Stone, the leader of the Rock Rangers. He may not look much and he likes to joke and mess around a lot, but he's quite a powerful hunter!"

"And that black one with blue stripes?" Littlefoot asks again with curiosity, his speech running fast with the eagerness to learn.

Ken'ichi chuckled. "Whoa, slow down, kid! That guy is none other than Donovan, the one in charge of the soldiers and elite hunters of the pack. He's like the role model of all the little ones who want to grow up to become strong and capable. He's kind of looked up to as a legend."

"Wow…" Littlefoot coos in awe. "A legend…" The thought of the Longneck Biters seeing Donovan as a legend reminded him of Doc, the Lone Dinosaur. He recalls how inspired he was when he heard that legend that is connected to Saurus Rock, it even looked like Doc.

"I didn't see what was so great about him." Cera comments after hearing about Donovan. "He didn't even look tough."

Littlefoot rolled his eyes. "So I guess him shutting you up with just a shout was just a fluke?"

"What?!" Cera jumped up to her feet. He did _not_ just say that. "Why I'd have you know…" She suddenly stopped, trying to think of a come back, but it just did not come to her.

Ducky couldn't help but giggle at Cera's expense. "Oh yes, he did stopped you with just a shout. And only your daddy could do that to you."

"Well…I uhhh…" Cera was backed into a corner, she just couldn't think of a way out of this one.

Ken'ichi just laughed, getting a kicked out of this. "Don't feel bad, kid. Donovan just knows how to make everybody shut up with just a shout."

"Hmph…" Cera just narrowed her eyes as the gang laughed at Cera's expense. I'll get back at them later, she thought.

* * *

Silence couldn't help but giggle as she sat down with little Terrel being all playful with her. It was a rather cute sight seeing the two of them talking and every now and then the little Fast Biter would roll around and jump as the playful raplet that he is just to have a little fun.

"And then, I pushed that rock and everything came crumbling down! There were boulders everywhere!" Terrel was narrating when he actually took down a Sharptooth with the rock slide from before, making up surprises and suspense by jumping around and crouching at the most scary parts. "I knew the Sharptooth was begging for me not to but he deserved it! He wanted to eat my friends and I wasn't going to have any of that!"

Dice was peacefully sitting next to Silence, trying to recover some lost sleep. He couldn't get a decent sleep these past few days, and with this gang of strangers and this little runt annoying him with his stories, he wasn't going to get any sleep this time either.

"My, aren't you a brave one." Silence commented with a giggle.

"Oh brother…" Dice muttered to himself with a roll of his eyes. At least the others were quiet, plotting away their next step as they were huddled together a few steps away from them, probably keeping them from hearing anything that they're talking about. As if I was interested, Dice thought to himself.

"All right, so we're here." Tanner muttered to Rex, Chomper and Yu as he points with his claw a poorly drawn map of the place they're in. "We're making good time if we're here in the middle of it all. The Bright Circle is close to go down, so if we want out of here before the Night Circle shows up we gotta hurry."

"It could've been much easier if Terrel stayed home…" Yu comments to no one in particular.

"Well beggars can't be choosers." Tanner replies. "It would save time if he wasn't here with us but that's not the problem. Now, this is the path we're supposed to take to get out of here." With his claw on the dirt he traces a path from their supposed location to in between a poorly drawn mountain range and onward. "If I remember right from when I was here last time we should find no trouble going down here."

"Sounds easy." Chomper adds.

"But!" Tanner's voice suddenly grew louder and angrier as he brought his claw back a bit on the road he drew. "Under no circumstances, and I can't stress this enough, can you go down here!" He veered his claw to the right and practically draws a path over his poorly drawn mountain range.

Rex frowned. "Um…Why? What's over there?"

Tanner shakes his head with a mild glare. "I've had so many headaches whenever we go there. It's dangerous, suicidal, and you'll see so many flowing fires than you'll see in your entire life! Plus, it's hot. Very hot."

"If it's hotter than here, you don't have to worry about me going there." Chomper comments as he stuck out his tongue again, panting.

Tanner just couldn't help but to sigh as he stood up. "Just follow my tail, just in case." He turned to the other three as he's set to move out. "Hey! We're moving out! C'mon, let's go!"

"Awwww! Already?!" Terrel complained as he took off to Tanner and the others. "But we just got here!"

"C'mon Terrel, no complaining." Yu told his little cousin as they moved out.

Silence slowly rose up to her feet, ready to go as well. She looks at Dice as he got up, nodding to her to continue on their way. Since this group seems to be going the same direction, might as well tag along at least until they get out of the place.

At this place the team would reach the outskirts of this volcano region by nightfall, which it's just a few hours away. Tanner was mildly impressed, they were making great time, more than he expected. He thought they would be stuck in this region at least until tomorrow, but at this pace they'll be out in no time. He has underestimated these guys, he expected them to drop and request a break every now and then, but they have complained little. Well, excluding little Terrel.

He looked at Rex; the calm Dracovol was silently walking on all fours, his wings folded tight against his back as they strolled along. He always heard stories and such about Dracovols, and excluding Phantom he hasn't met any Dracovols personally.

Yu was like another Fast Biter in the area, but to him his color scheme was a bit rare. Most Fast Biters are either brown or black, but it's a rarity seeing a Fast Biter like him. Little Terrel was basically their handicap; he's the top priority if they get into trouble. The little guy is easy target for predators and their enemies, so they gotta keep an eye out for him.

Chomper, well, he's unfamiliar with him. All he knows about him is that he was found as an egg in the Great Valley thanks to two Egg Stealers. Other than he knows so little about him, but it's been known that he has been with Rex and Yu before. He recalls a report from one of his fellow Alimon partners how he along with the others were attacked by a black Fast Biter before an avalanche of rocks crushed the Fast Biter to death.

"So," Silence began in an attempt to get to know them better. "How long have you all been traveling together?"

"Well, Rex and I have been traveling together with my pack for a long time now." Yu was the one to respond. "Chomper joins us from time to time, and with Tanner since from today."

"They always leave me behind!" Terrel adds in an attempt to just get on Yu's nerves.

Which worked like a charm; much to Yu's dismay. "Terrel! You know that's not true!" Yu barked at his little cousin, a bit peeved at what he just said.

Silence laughed a bit, those two seem like they're always getting into each other's skin. She smiled, during the short time they've been with them it's been entertaining and fun, and she'll miss them when they'll go their separate ways after getting out of this volcanic region.

"What about you two?" Rex asked to both Silence and Dice. "It seems kind of odd seeing different dinosaurs traveling together."

"You're one to talk." Dice remarks to the Dracovol. Rex winced and mentally kicked himself, that didn't come out right. "If you want to know," Dice continues. "We've been together for a very long time."

"Just the two of you?" Chomper inquires, sounding like if he's teasing them about it.

"Why are you asking them that way?" Tanner suddenly comments at the Sharptooth. "You're making it sound like if they're mates or something."

Chomper giggled and was about to apologize when he noticed the silence that swept them up. Normally when teased about such a thing someone would snap at either denying it or just saying something to their defense; but this time, nobody said a thing. The group slowly came to a stop, slowly all eyes moved to Dice and Silence, where the two of them just stood there. Dice moved his eyes away with a bit of annoyance while Silence just blushed a bit.

The gang was a bit surprised. A Fast Biter was in love with another from a different species? They were about to confess their shock when something ran up to them and through them, knocking everyone with a surprised yell. This creature, as fast as it showed up, ran through them and away from them, but not without a little something to go.

"Aaaah!!" Chomper shouts in pain and fear as this creature clamped its mouth around his body and lifted him up, taking him with him.

Rex, who's flat on his stomach as he rubs his head, quickly opens his eyes upon hearing the scream. "Chomper!!" He shouts as he quickly sits up and spots the creature running away with him!

"Heeelp!!" Chomper pleads as the creature, another Afrovenator, carries him off with him.

"Argh! No!" Tanner quickly jumps to his feet and takes off after the hunter.

"Hang on, Chomper!!" Yu shouts as he runs off after the Sharptooth.

Dice groaned as he slowly got up, shaking his head to rid of the daze of the fall. He took note of the abduction and the others running after the Sharptooth and his eyes widen a little bit. While his attitude shadows it, Dice was never one to let the dinosaurs he knows get hurt or killed. "Silence!" Dice nudged her as she lay on the ground, her too dazed from the sudden attack. "C'mon, get up."

Silence slowly opened her eyes with a groan. "Dice? What…Just happened?"

Dice couldn't help but growl a bit. "Some Sharptooth knocked us down and took the blue kid." He looked to his right where the others ran off to. "And the others just went off after him."

Silence gasped in horror upon hearing that. She turned her head to see that the others have already left, leaving them behind to go after their friend. They have to help, they owe it to them! "Dice!" Silence began as she turned her head to him. "We must go help them!"

Dice just shrugged. "The kid's probably dead the moment that Sharptooth grabbed him. No point."

Silence gave a glare to him. "What are you saying? We must help them! We owe it to them for saving our lives!" She kept looking at Dice; the Sharptooth wasn't showing any interest in going after them, and that just angers her. "Oooh! You're impossible!" Se scolds before turning tail and running after the others to help them rescue Chomper.

Dice just watches her go with a scoff…

* * *

To the south of the volcanic region lie vast green plains and an impressive chain of mountains. There two figures are approaching this chain of mountains, a light-blue figure and a black figure.

"Whoa…" Vlad mutters as he looks up at the mountains. "They're so high…Higher than the ones in Crescent Valley…!"

"And take a look at that!" Shino exclaims as he points to some footprints on the ground. "No mistake about it, Alimon tracks!" Shino follows the tracks with his eyes and finds an opening in the mountain wall, a cavern. "Well well, guess we found its home."

Vlad looks at the footprints and takes a whiff of the scent around here. No mistake about it, the scent is familiar, not too far ahead either. Shino notices the look on Vlad's face and now what's going on. "She's here, isn't she?"

Vlad narrows his eyes and nods. "Yeah, I can never forget that scent…"

Shino gives a smug grin to his friend. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!" And with that Shino follows the tracks to the little cavern. He slowly steps inside and scans the little path before going any further; the path is lightly illuminated from cracks up above, and it's going to be a tight squeeze walking through this little pathway with the boulders and spikes making the path even narrower than it already is. An Alimon can easily squeeze through, but a Dracovol on the other paw…

"All right then…" Shino mutters, already not liking the idea of squeezing through. He may not be pudgy like Kedem, but it's still going to be a tight squeeze to get through. "No turning back now…"

The two Dracovols squeeze into the crevice and follow down the path, carefully moving and slowly marching as to avoid making any noise during their trek through this area. They don't want to give themselves away to whoever is here. Vlad winces as a felt the sting of a sharp rock brushing up against his arm, this place seems to be filled with these kinds of rocks, not exactly an ideal place to live.

The little pathway lead them to an opening within the wall, a dead end. The two of them scan around the area, trying to find a place where the Alimons could've went. It was Shino who spotted a few rocks that by jumping on them leads upward, probably to a ledge above them. Motioning to Vlad about the rocks the two young Dracovols climbed up, the area was too narrow for them to fly up with their wings.

Vlad grunted as he pulled himself up on the third rock. "No wonder Alimons are tough, this is too hard…!"

"You're just out of shape," Shino teases with his usual cocky smirk. "I'm not having any trouble."

Vlad looks up to look at Shino, already a few steps above him. "You're just a big show-off…"

"Hahah! Sticks and stones, Vlad!"

Vlad grumbled to himself, Shino can be a bit of an annoyance at times, especially when it comes to his attitude. They kept on climbing higher and higher with every rock they jump up to, getting some good work out in the process, feeling their muscles tense as they jump and pull themselves higher up from rock to rock, their tongues hanging out as they pant for breath.

They soon reach the end, a ledge and a path leading them deeper through a cave. "Man, do these guys like caves or what." Shino comments sarcastically. He looks over at Vlad who pants a bit as he rests from the climb. "Tired already?"

Vlad looks at Shino with a bit of a glare. "You're annoying, you know that?"

Shino laughed at Vlad's remark. "Right. Anyway, let's go!"

Vlad watches as Shino fearlessly runs down the cave, not giving a second thought at what he could find in there. He probably believes he can take on anything just like that without any problem to run like that into the darkness, reckless little kid. But on second thought, Vlad has been reckless so far, taking huge risks to get this far following Alimons around.

Vlad shakes off his thoughts and runs after Shino into the cavern, he's going to get left behind if he doesn't catch up. If Shino does bump into something alone, it could be trouble.

Vlad continues running until he finds a fork in the way and stops at the crossroads. Now where did Shino go? Did he go forward into more darkness or to the left where Vlad can barely see sunlight? He takes a whiff of the air and immediately he's overwhelmed by the strong scent of what he believes are Alimons. Vlad curses; Shino's scent is washed over by these strong scents, making it impossible to guess where Shino went now.

Just when things couldn't get any worse a sudden sound came from Vlad's left, startling him into backing away from the left path. He gulped as he saw the figure of someone walking toward him, someone on all four. No doubt, an Alimon!

Vlad slowly narrowed his eyes as his heartbeat began to race, is this the one he's looking for?

"Hello? Is someone there?" According to the sound of that voice, it's not. It's female no doubt, but will she hurt him?

Vlad wasn't taking any chances though. He slowly dropped on all fours and kept close to the wall, ready to defend himself as he growled lowly. As the Alimon came closer and closer he could make out her coloring: Yellow skin with a red underbelly and red forepaws, and her sclera were light blue.

The yellow Alimon was easily intimidated by Vlad's growl, but then she gasped silently when she recognized the Dracovol. "You're…You're Vlad. Aren't you?"

Vlad's eyes widen in shock, how did she know his name? He tilted his head a bit, confused. "How…Did you know my name?"

The Alimon looked behind her and then to the sides as if checking that no one was watching. "Never mind that…" She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. "You really shouldn't be here…Go back from where you came from and leave this place…"

Vlad growled at her. "I asked you, how did you know my name?!"

The Alimon shook her head. "That doesn't matter. Please, you must leave before you're found. If Axel finds you, she'll-"

"So she is here!" Vlad suddenly interrupted her in a rage. He bared his teeth and swung his paw at the air. "Where? Tell me, where is she?!"

The Alimon gave a worrisome look before taking a step forward. "I mustn't! I don't wish for you to lose your life! She'll kill you…"

Vlad's growl increases in volume, his eyes narrow even more dangerously. "Listen, Alimon! I came here for a reason! Now tell me where she is or I'll-"

"Or you'll what, my little friend?"

Vlad freezes in his spot. Just by seeing the Alimon's expression and from the sound of that voice was enough for him to figure out what's coming. Slowly the two of them looked down the path that leads to sunlight, seeing a figure blocking that illuminated path.

"What a pleasant surprise." The figure walked forward to them both with a sadistic grin, the figure's details and colorings coming to light as she nears the both of them. Axel!

"What a delicious treat you found for me, Tana!" Axel comments with her grin and glare. "And just when I was about to go out on a little mission too! You sure know how to keep your sister happy!"

"Sister?!" Vlad inquires in shock. The hunter has just become the hunted.

* * *

Finally, this sucker is done. Phew.

All right, the characters Dice and Silence are guest characters who belong to Dragonborn. I hope I got their personalities right.

Also as a bonus, somewhere in this chapter there's a quote as an easter egg from a well-known parody series on the net. Can you find this quote? Break a leg!


	12. Tough and dire times

"Chomper!!"

The group kept on running after the Sharptooth that have abducted Chomper. They had to save him; no way will they let a Sharptooth take away their friend just like that! They followed the Sharptooth through the rocky terrains and jumping over rocks that blocked their way, desperate to catch up to the Sharptooth that's already barely in their view.

"Come on!" Rex shouted to the others as he takes the lead, jumping over another boulder as he's in pursuit. He was like a possessed beast following the Sharptooth like this, his eyes in a glare and his muzzle in a snarl as he chases on all four like a wild animal.

"Oh, the poor thing…" Silence commented about Chomper's situation as she follows in the pursuit. "I wonder if we'll make it in time…"

"I'm sure we will…" Yu replies as he runs alongside her, equally worried about Chomper. "We just have to save him!"

Silence remained quiet but her mind wandered. If Dice was here they could've used his help to find the shortcuts and the best paths to take to outrun the Sharptooth and save Chomper, but he deserted them…Silence couldn't believe her mate would just deny helping them…

Rex winced as he heard the faint cry for help from Chomper, they were so up ahead he could barely hear it. He growls and tries to pick up his speed to catch up, he ignored the stings to the sole of his feet from the small pebbles on the ground, he just wants to save his friend!

While in the chase Tanner scanned his eyes left and right. He recognizes this area; they're running up a low hill that eventually reaches a dead end. If the Sharptooth doesn't have a dead wish and jumps off the cliff with everything and prey, this Sharptooth is as good as theirs. That is if the Sharptooth hasn't killed Chomper along the way.

Rex kept on going in the lead as the path they run on begins to become narrower as they go on. Suddenly the hill stops going upward and Rex gasps in shock as the path abruptly ends to a dead-end. He skids on his paws to a stop and barely halts just two feet from the edge. He sighs in relief until Silence bumps into him, shoving him one foot closer to the edge. Suddenly Yu bumps into Silence and Rex, Silence yelping from the collision behind her and being the final push as Rex gets thrown off the cliff.

Tanner himself was caught by surprise by the collision up ahead and skids to a stop; he doesn't remember the path ending into a cliff this quickly.

As Silence and Yu lay sitting on the ground shaking off their daze Rex desperately flaps his wings to keep himself from plummeting down to his death. He manages to gain some air and lands back on the safe ground, panting for breath after such a scare.

"My head…" Yu grunts as he rubs his head.

Silence shakes her head and slowly lifts her head, her eyes set on the cliff that threatened to have them fall off from. "A cliff…?"

Rex slowly turns his head toward the cliff and looks down. It's a very long way down, lots of sharp rocks at the bottom too. Rex looks both ways from where they came from. There are no other paths to take; this is just a dead end.

"You don't think…" Silence couldn't finish that sentence, scared of what the answer may be.

Rex looks back down the cliff, not wanting to believe it himself. But there's no other way to get away from them, it was either take a stand or jump. And from the looks of things, that Sharptooth must've missed the cliff and ran off the cliff to its death along with Chomper. Rex slowly shook his head and closed his eyes. "Chompeeeeeeeer!!"

But little do they expect that the Sharptooth is alive and well, for just above them to the wall on their right there seems to be another cliff leading to another path. The Sharptooth climbed up the wall and up to its safety with its meal safely in its jaw. Upon reaching the cliff the Sharptooth spits out its prey, ready for the pleasure of cornering its food before tearing into it.

Chomper grunts as he's spat out on the ground, a little bit in pain after having the Sharptooth's teeth closed down around his body. He's slightly injured but okay.

"Ow…" Chomper looks at the Sharptooth as it slowly stalks toward him. Chomper scrambles up to his feet and slowly backs away, fear in his eyes. "D-Don't come any closer…" He half-heartedly threatens before taking a loud gulp. "I'm warning you…I've taken on bigger Sharpteeth than you…!"

The Sharptooth doesn't seem fazed by Chomper's threat. Instead it keeps on getting closer and closer, bearing its teeth as it readies for the kill. Meanwhile Chomper is trembling as he's cornered up against the wall. It looks like this is it for him, his life ending as someone else's meal. "Stay back…!"

"Kind of too small a meal there, huh?"

The Sharptooth snarled and turned its head to its left, spotting another Sharptooth intruding on his meal time. The intruder walks closer to the Sharptooth with a dangerous glare. "I'm pretty sure that little runt won't be much of a good fill."

Chomper looks at the second Sharptooth and gasps. "Dice!"

The Sharptooth snarls and charges to attack its intruder, but instead of being intimidated or scared Dice just narrows his glare and charges himself. "I'll teach you to try to eat my friends!"

It all lasted a second, for the next thing Rex and the others knew they heard a loud roar echoing through the sky, startling them all as they lifts their heads up to the skies. "What was that?" Silence inquired to no one in particular.

Rex, Yu and Tanner turned their heads this way and that trying to find the source of the roar until they were caught by surprise by a rare sight. The Sharptooth they were following just flew out from another road above them they missed and fell down the cliff they managed to avoid falling into, roaring as it fell to its death.

The sight scared the boys a bit, making them stare down the cliff. "…Wha-What just happened?" Yu stammers a bit.

Rex blinked twice before throwing his head up and turning to his right, spotting an extra path above them that they missed. Suddenly someone pokes his head from up there that made Rex smile. "Chomper!"

The other three quickly turned and looked up and beamed, happy to see the familiar face of their blue Sharptooth friend. They all smile and cheer as they see their good friend alive and well. Rex happily jumps and flies up to the cliff and meets up with Chomper, giving him a good hug with a laugh. "Hahah, Chomper! I'm so glad to see you're alright!"

Chomper laughed as he struggled in Rex's hug. "Haha, Rex! You're hugging me a bit too tight!"

"Give the Sharptooth some room to breathe, kid."

Rex looked ahead and saw a familiar Sharptooth standing there wiping some blood off his claws and mouth. He was shocked seeing him there. "Dice? I thought you…"

"You kids are dense." Dice comments with a smirk. "When you go after your prey you're not supposed to directly chase it. Learn the direction its going and find a better way to catch up and catch it by surprise. Basic Sharptooth hunting advice."

Rex gave Dice a bit of a glare as he released Chomper. "Don't give me that look." Dice adds. "I know this place like the back of my paw; I knew the path the Sharptooth went led to that dead-end. So I went up this second path instead."

"Wow! That was very smart!" Chomper admires. "Thank you so much for saving my life, Dice!"

Rex just arched an eyebrow and gave him a look. "But how did you know the Sharptooth would end up here?"

Dice just gave a slight grin with his eyes narrowed. "A chased prey will do anything to get away, even if it means risking its neck climbing up a cliff."

Rex rolled his eyes. In a way he was a bit jealous Dice planned so far ahead and predicted the Sharptooth's every move to this second path. Smart and tactical, and he was a bit ashamed he didn't thought of it first. But then again, in his defense, he doesn't know a thing about this region, much less to plan any strategic way to outdo his prey.

"Rex!!"

Rex snapped out from his thoughts and turned to the cliff, looking down to his left to see Yu, Tanner and Silence looking up at him from below. "Is everything okay?!" Yu inquired.

"Yeah!" Rex nods with a smile. "Chomper's alright! Dice saved him!"

"Dice?" Silence butted in. At first she looked like she didn't want to believe it, as if it was too good to be true that her good friend would suddenly change his mind and charge in to help them. In the end however she let out a warm smile and sighed happily. "Oh Dice…Somehow I knew you'd come after all…"

Tanner couldn't help but smile a bit. So the smart-mouth Sharptooth helped them after all. He then takes a step forward. "Can you guys climb down from up there?"

Rex hums as he looks both ways to try to find any way for the others to get down. The cliff looks too smooth to be able to grab on to anything, not much to dig their claws in to hold themselves from falling. He leans a bit forward and yelps as some rocks give way and drop. This is too dangerous; it's probably not worth the risk. "I don't think so." Rex answers with a shake of his head. "I think we should just go back to when we started and meet where these two paths split."

Tanner nods in agreement. "That sounds much safer; we do need to backtrack anyway. Stay together and keep an eye out for any danger on that road. If I remember right there used to be a place where a lot of Sharpteeth used to gather somewhere close around here."

Rex gulps, already scared by the mere thought of coming across a place with a lot of Sharpteeth. "Oh great…That's all we needed…"

"You'll be fine!" Yu reassures his friend with a smile and a giggle. "We've been through tougher things before and we always manage to survive!"

"That's because we had your pack to help us." Rex mutters to himself with a weak smile.

"Stay sharp!" Tanner commands before leaving with Yu and Silence, leaving behind Rex, Chomper and Dice alone. Great, no pressure; after hearing about this supposed Sharptooth gathering area. Fast Biters, any other Sharpteeth that travel in groups.

"Well come on," Dice began as he started to make his way down the path. "The Bright Circle is really coming down and I would like to catch up to the others before night comes."

"Alright alright." Rex grumbles as he stands up and follows. "Don't let me slow you down, smart guy…"

Chomper watched as Dice took the lead before following Rex. They must've gotten way off course thanks to that Sharptooth kidnapping Chomper for a quick meal. They wanted to reach the end of the Fire Region before the Bright Circle came down on them, but now it sort of looks like they'll be spending the night in this hot place, much to Chomper's dismay.

* * *

This was bad, Vlad thought, stuck in a cavern tunnel with two Alimons. To his right, a yellow and red Alimon apparently named Tana. In front of him, the Alimon that has cost him so many nightmares his whole life and the one always taunting him for his past, Axel.

It only makes his situation even worse upon realizing these two Alimons are sisters. It makes it hard to believe the cold hearted Axel has a sister, but there she is standing to Vlad's right. She eyes Vlad with a concerned face but she tries her best to hide this softness from her sister in fear that she would spite her for her weakness.

"So, you finally had the nerve to face me in my territory. I must say, that's quite impressive." Axel comments with a satisfied grin. "To think you walked all the way from Crescent Valley to visit little ol' me!"

Vlad's glare narrowed dangerously as he began to growl. Just seeing her standing there in front of him makes his blood boil. He steps forward but then backs up the step, reminding himself that Tana is there close to him, an Alimon who's related to Axel in blood. If he tries to attack Axel then he'll have two Alimons all over him. Not the right time to pick a fight.

Meanwhile Tana watches on with a long face. This isn't what she wanted at all. She tried to warn Vlad about Axel, she tried to get Vlad to leave, but the child was either too arrogant or just didn't trust her to take her advice. "Axel…" She tries to speak, but her courage was very thin.

"Tana, please be a dear and give us some alone time." Axel ordered her sister while keeping her eyes on Vlad. "We old friends have some catching up to do."

Tana felt her heart skip a beat, but she complied and nodded. "Yes…" She slowly turned around; her eyes set on Vlad, and then walked off down the cavern toward the light. Now Vlad is all alone with his most hated Alimon.

"So, my boy…" Axel began in a mocking tone as she began circling around the boy with a grin. "What brings you here on the most dangerous part of the Mysterious Beyond?"

Vlad gulped loudly as his most hated Alimon began circling him, his heart beating rapidly. "I think you know…"

Axel mocked a thinking hum after hearing that and just shook her head with a mad grin. "Oh but I do not, Vladie boy. Enlighten me."

"You very much know why!" Vlad exclaimed with a growl. "I have a score to settle with you, Axel! Something I've been very eagered to do ever since that horrible day!"

Axel began to laugh at what Vlad is telling her. "Hahah, an old score huh? And what would that be?"

"Don't make fun of me, you old hag!" Vlad insulted, surprisingly getting Axel's attention as the Alimon suddenly stopped her circling. "You've been playing with me ever since that day with your talks and words! I'm sick of them!"

"…Old…Hag?" Axel mutters as one of her eyes twitched.

Vlad's eyes dangerously narrowed as he kept on talking. "I'm not the same little defenseless kid you used to know. And I'm here to settle our old score once and for all!"

Axel was snarling from the insult of being called an old hag, but soon she stopped and smiled sadistically. "Alright then…" She lowered her body and flexed her claws, ready for the battle. "You want to fight me and throw your life away, fine by me. I always dreamed of tearing into your flesh, child. So much that I think I'll just toy with you before the main event…"

"I'm not scared…" Vlad replies as he's on all four, his body low as he too is ready for the fight. "My nightmares with you will finish today!"

Axel chuckled, she thought this was cute. "Don't go dying on me, Vladie boy."

Vlad snarled and charged in for the attack. He jumps and flexes his claws to land on Axel to shred her apart, but as he came down on her Axel jumped away and out of his range. He landed on the ground and skidded a bit before turning around and swinging a paw to slash at the Alimon. Axel grinned and ducked low as the paw flew right over her and retaliated with a tackle, knocking Vlad off his feet and into a wall, knocking the wind out of him. He grimaces and opens his eyes just in time to see claws coming at him and moves aside just in time to avoid them.

Vlad backs up and glares at Axel while gritting his teeth. Axel seems to be enjoying it with her satisfied grin. Vlad charges in again and opens his mouth for a bite, but Axel jumps aside to dodge the bite and counters with a quick slash to the face, connecting with Vlad's cheek and knocking him down to the ground. A bit dazed but not out Vlad rolls over and quickly jumps up to his feet, growling at Axel as he feels the sting to his cheek.

"Heheheh," Axel chuckled. "I hope this isn't all you have, my boy."

Vlad snarled from the taunt and charged in with a roar. He rams into Axel with a headbutt and knocks her on her back. He pins her down and opens his mouth savagely to tear into 

her throat, but Axel toys with him again and merely grabs him by the throat, holding him back from ever giving that bite he wanted to give to her neck.

Vlad chokes in Axel's grasp, trying to shake his head to get out of her grip. Axel just smirked and threw Vlad off of her without much effort. As she rolled and picked herself up Vlad coughed as he rubbed his neck, breathing in the air that Axel robbed him of by choking him. He shook it off and turned to Axel with a growl. Why, why couldn't he lay a paw on her? She kept avoiding and blocking his attacks.

"My my, you must not go out on too many hunts." Axel mocks as she stretches her legs out. "Those kinds of movements and attacks won't get you far out in the Mysterious Beyond."

Vlad jumps up to his four paws and leaps, at which Axel does the same. In mid-air Vlad reaches out his paws to grab at her, Axel just merely brings a paw back, and when in range she swings her paw, brutally slamming it against Vlad's face and knocking him out of the air. Vlad cries out in pain as her paw painfully collides against his face, her claws cutting his cheek and the back of his head deeply. He drops to the ground almost like dead weight, knocked right out of the air and struck silly across the face.

Axel just murred in delight as she gracefully lands on her feet, some slight dips of blood dripping from her claw tips. She began licking the blood off of her claws as Vlad slowly tries to get up, his face grimacing in deep pain as the blood trickled down his face. The wound looked deep but not fatal.

"Is that all, my boy?" Axel taunts. "Why, I barely even started and you're already hurt and tired."

Vlad panted a bit as he got up on all four. He's hurting from the wound to his head, and if he's not careful the bleeding could get worse and ultimately cost him his life. He trembles a bit before running in to attack again but Axel jumps in and head butts the boy, knocking him down yet again to the ground. Vlad grimaces as his nose starts bleeding from the blow, disoriented and hurt.

"Haha, I expected more of a fight from you." Axel grinned as she stepped forward and placed a paw on Vlad's neck, chocking him. She then grinned down at Vlad as she saw the boy's eyes bulge out and gasping for breath. "But then again this is a child I'm talking to, and a sheltered one at that."

Vlad chokes and grabs Axel's paw in an attempt to get it off of his neck, but her strength is too much for the young boy, he couldn't even budge the paw. He couldn't believe it, is this how it'll end for him? Was he just kidding himself? Was Kedem right about just trying to forget about Axel and save his skin by just avoiding her? All of this for nothing…!

Axel licked her chops and was about to go for the kill when a rock flies through the air and strikes her right between her eyes. She snarls and gets off of Vlad as she rubs her face. With a growl she turns around. "Who threw that?!"

Suddenly another bigger rock flies at her and out from the shadows jumps out Shino. The reckless Dracovol charges and tackles Axel as she was caught off guard before jumping back and to his friend's side. "Well well, so we found you." He looks down at Vlad. "Yikes, that looks like it hurts."

Vlad winces as he rolls over on his stomach. "Ngh, what do you think…And where did you ran off to?!"

Shino shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Not my fault you can't keep up."

Axel growled as she shook off the daze and slowly got up, snarling as she witnesses another Dracovol in the cave. Hm, a friend of Vlad's, huh? Perfect, she thought, she could use a bit more of fun.

"Well, isn't this cute." Axel comments with a grin as she takes a step forward. "A friend of yours has come to the rescue. I gotta say Vlad, after that day I thought you'd be a bit wiser about including others into your ordeals."

Shino glared at Axel as he kept his eyes on her. He only saw Axel once a couple of days ago when she showed up in Crescent Valley, but that was enough to know this is her. And just seeing her this up close has given him a bit of a fright. She looks ruthless and scary to boot. "Geez, you weren't kidding about Axel being one mean Alimon."

"Heheh," Axel chuckled. Her? A mean Alimon? Not a bad title if she does say so herself. "I see I'm quite a catch with the children."

"No…You leave him alone…" Vlad grunts as his eye twitches from the painful wound to his face. "Your fight is with me, Axel…" Vlad tried to take a step forward, but his strength nearly left him and he fell down flat on his stomach again.

Axel couldn't help but laugh at Vlad's futile efforts. "Hahah, oh come now, Vlad. You can hardly stand up at all. Your performance was very disappointing and you're letting a small cut on your face keep you on the ground!" She grinned and took a step forward to Vlad's friend, who looked more than ready to pick a fight. "Your friend on the other hand looks more than ready to be torn apart, and he looks like he has a lot of meat on him…" Axel was already salivating on the thought of tearing into Shino's skin. The delicious taste of Dracovol meat…

"Aren't I popular…" Shino comments with sarcasm. "I guess I got to warn you, I'm the better hunter between my friends."

Axel grinned; this is starting to sound promising. "Then show me what you can do, child! The sooner I'm done here the sooner I'll go out to my next mission!"

* * *

Dice kept his eyes going this way and that, keeping an eye out for the kids behind him and keeping tabs on where they are as to not make a wrong turn and get lost. This path is pretty straightforward except for some extra pathways here and there. It shouldn't be too hard for him to find the way back considering he ran up this path to corner the Sharptooth, but going down this path from the opposite direction can be pretty disorienting and confusing.

Rex yawned as his head bobbed back and forth, this is rather boring, and traveling with just one friend and an older Sharptooth stranger is enough to build tension between the three of them as not one word has been spoken. "So…" Rex tries to establish a conversation. "How long have you and Silence been together?"

Dice stopped and looked over his shoulder at Rex. "What's it to you? Is there a problem I travel with someone as Silence?"

Rex stopped in his tracks and gulped, that look Dice is giving him is pretty intimidating. "Um, well no. I was just trying to set a conversation…"

"Well then learn to make better topics."

With that said Dice continued on his way. Rex couldn't help but glare at Dice and give him a little growl, his attitude getting the best of him. "Man, what a grouch. I was just trying to make him feel more welcomed around us."

Chomper looked at Dice before looking up at his Dracovol friend. "Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable talking about Silence when around with others."

"I guess you're right…" Rex mutters with a scratch to his chin. "Still, he could've been at least a bit friendlier than being grumpy about it."

"Will you two hurry up?!" Dice called up to them after seeing them so far behind. "The sooner we get back to the others before the Bright Circle falls the better!!"

Rex shoots a mild glare toward Dice's direction before moving along with Chomper by his side. Other than Yu's father Rex has never met someone as commanding and irritating as Dice. That Sharptooth has an attitude problem…

And while Rex and Chomper try to cope with Dice, the others seem to be having an easy time getting to know more about Silence and Dice. Compared to Dice Silence is thousands of times easier to talk to and establish conversations. She's very kind and feels comfortable to talk to them about almost anything. With Dice and Silence practically opposites in every way, it's a wonder they actually travel together.

"So how long have you and Dice been traveling together?" Yu inquires as he walks alongside Silence with Tanner taking the lead and Terrel following Yu close behind.

"Hmm, let's see…" Silence looks up at the sky, thinking back to when she and Dice first met. "It was a very long time ago. I remember I used to travel with a pack of my own, but to be honest I never really liked killing other living things for food."

"Really?" Little Terrel innocently asked. To him it was a little strange hearing that coming from another Fast Biter.

Silence chuckled and smiled down at Terrel. "Strange, isn't it? You don't have to say it; I know full well how strange it is. But I'm not ashamed of it." Her eyes lowered as she began to frown. "My pack on the other hand, saw it as a weakness. They thought I would only hurt the pack more than actually help them. One day, I was told to kill a young Swimmer. But I couldn't do it; I couldn't bring myself to kill the poor thing…"

Yu couldn't help but frown, feeling sorry for her as he knows what she's going to say next. "So they exiled you from the pack, huh?"

Silence sighed deeply followed with a nod. "That's right. It was my last chance and they saw no further reason to keep me in the pack, so they exiled me…"

"But then you met Dice, right?" Terrel jumps in with his usual positive attitude.

Silence smiled at the little raplet and nodded. "Yes, I met Dice not long afterwards. He at least didn't seem to like the idea of traveling around with him, but as time passed we began to open up to each other. He taught me how to defend myself and in turn I kept him company."

"And then you fell in love with him?"

Silence immediately raised her head and looked at Yu. The Fast Biter looked at her curiously, wanting to hear more about it. Terrel himself was curious as well, and if Tanner had eyes at the back of his head he too would be looking at Silence with curiosity as well. Silence merely blushed and lowered his eyes, a bit embarrassed that this truth exposed itself. "Y-Yes…"

Yu smiled and nodded his head; it all makes sense now. "Ah, so that explains that awkward moment of silence before Chomper got kidnapped. You two _do _love each other!"

Silence smiled a bit nervously as her cheek blushed even more. "I-I know it sounds weird…A Fast Biter falling in love with a different kind of Sharptooth…But I do love him…"

"I don't find it weird at all!" Terrel comments about the matter.

"It does sound kind of strange at first, but it's really not that uncommon." Tanner expresses his say of the matter from up ahead. "You'd be surprised how many dinosaurs fall in love with others from different kinds if you've traveled and learned as much as I have." Tanner 

stops and looks back toward Silence with a friendly glare and a smile. "But if the love works, then more power to ya."

Silence felt more confidence in her relationship with Dice as she looks at Tanner's approving smile. She slowly looks at Yu and Terrel, the both of them are smiling and seem to be approving themselves of the relationship. Silence's heart was touched as she smiled warmly. "Thank you, boys…"

"Ah come on, at least say something!" Rex was at it again trying to get Dice to talk, to say something at least to get to know him better. But Dice just kept on shrugging off Rex's advances or replying with a simple growl. "I mean, we don't know you. What kind of Sharptooth are you? Where do you used to live? Where are you exactly going?"

"For the last time, mind your own business!" Dice snaps at Rex. "Geez, you're as nosy as a Swimmer is when it explores everything underwater!"

"Uhhh, he's just trying to get to know you better." Chomper butts in as he just stopped Rex from saying something else that could set the tension even higher. "We're sorry if we're trying to make you talk about things you don't want to talk about."

"At least tell us what kind of Sharptooth you are…" Rex mutters, at least loud enough for Dice to hear.

Dice growls and was about to snap at Rex again when he remembered about Silence, at this point she would calm him down and tell him a thing or two to at least communicate with them. He stops his growling and caved in, sighing to himself. "To be honest, I don't know what kind of Sharptooth I am myself."

Rex's eyes slightly widen, hearing Dice's story all too familiar. "Huh? You mean you don't know?"

Dice nodded as he continued along their way. "I was born all alone. When I hatched I was all by myself. Never had a family to take care of me, nobody to look after me, I was pretty much an outcast."

Chomper stops for a moment to reflect on what he just heard. "Gee, that doesn't sound like a very nice way to hatch at all…"

"You're telling me." Dice resumes with his story. "I spent all my life wandering around with nobody to look after me or take care of me; I was all on my own. I thought myself how to hunt, how to survive. Everywhere I went I made sure I knew everything about it so I could come back to it later if my life depended on it."

"And that's how you knew where to go to save me!" Chomper concludes with a happy and grateful smile.

"Heh, I guess my studying can save others too." Dice said in an almost uncaring manner. But if one could really see into his heart, the Sharptooth is really happy that memorizing his locations actually saved someone's life.

"So when did you meet Silence?" Rex asked with curiosity.

Dice began to get touchy again. When it comes to Silence that's one thing he feels uncomfortable talking about with others. "Yeah yeah…" But this time he gives in and finally talks about her. "I met her a long time ago. She was all alone just like me. She told me how her pack abandoned her when she refused to kill a Swimmer."

"Her pack abandoned her…?" Chomper was starting to feel bad for Silence after hearing that. Her pack just abandoned her all because of something as trivial as refusing to kill a Swimmer?

Dice just continued. "I felt pity for the girl, so I let her join me in my life. I taught her how to defend herself, and even tried to teach her how to hunt. But then I realized she just didn't like to hunt, period."

"A Meat-Eater that refuses to hunt?" Rex questions. "That's…Pretty-"

Dice suddenly stopped and swirled around, his eyes glaring right into Rex's as his muzzle pressed hard against his. If Dice had his mouth open he could've swallowed Rex's head whole. "Pretty what? You say anything negative about her and I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever say!"

Rex was scared. Anything he'd say about Silence would be the end of his life. He never met such a Sharptooth as Dice, one who has an attitude problem and would rip your head off if you say anything negative about his friend. As he trembled from having Dice's menacing face so close to his face he gulps loudly before speaking. "A-Alright, n-no p-problem. I wasn't going to say anything. Honest."

Dice gave a snort. "Good."

He then turned tail and continued on his way, leaving behind a shocked Rex and a pretty much startled Chomper. Rex breathed heavily as he clutched his chest before slowly dropping back on a sitting position on the ground, his chest heaving and his eyes a bit widen from such a scare. Such an intimidating face so close up, those angry red eyes and those two little horns on top of his head ready to shred into him. Who wouldn't be scared of him?

"Touchy…" Rex muttered inaudibly.

"I don't think you should talk about Silence anymore, Rex." Chomper warned in a low voice.

"Ya think?!"

Dice merely rolled his eyes. That kid doesn't have the right to criticize or comment about his relationship with Silence in that matter. In fact, he shouldn't be one to talk. He's traveling with three different Sharpteeth, that's an extremely odd pack right there. He continues down the path and suddenly stops, his eyes slightly widen a bit at what he sees. "This can't be right…"

Rex and Chomper were getting ready to continue when they heard Dice. "What's wrong?" Chomper asks as they both move to catch up to Dice.

A wall of rocks stands tall in front of them, and it's blocking their path back to meet back to the others. Dice cursed under his breath, how could this have happened? He didn't feel any earth shakes along the way to cause this. Could he going up this way to rescue Chomper have accidentally knocked something that would cause a rock slide later on? Was something passing by after he passed and caused this?

"Oh no…" Chomper muttered as he laid his eyes on the wall of rocks.

Rex slowly walks toward the rocks and moved a few, hoping it's not as bad as it looks. He got the surprise of his life though when upon moving a rock he came face to face with a Fast Biter's face. With a surprised scream he steps back, falling back on his tail in the process. It all makes sense now, Dice thought, an unfortunate traveler caused the rock slide and got killed in the process.

As Rex recovered from the scare Dice moved to his left and looked around the area, looking for those extra paths he knows are around here. He finds the path he was looking for but he wished he didn't have to take it. This is the path that leads to where Tanner mentioned, a rather big place where Sharpteeth are commonly seen. They could be walking into the waiting paws of a few hunters, but they can go around the wall this way. They'll have to take the risk.

"Hey, you two!" Dice calls back to Rex and Chomper. "We can go around the blocked path this way."

The two of them look and walk toward Dice to set their eyes on the new path. Rex however didn't seem too eager to go along this alternate path. "I don't know, Dice. Didn't Tanner say there was a place around here where a lot of Sharpteeth can be seen?"

"So we'll have to run and avoid a few Sharpteeth along the way." Dice remarks with a shrug of his shoulders. "That never stopped me before. Besides, I thought you two were brave and not just some scared children."

"What?" Rex shot a look at Dice. "Us? Scared? No way! We can do this!" He then turns his head toward Chomper. "Right, Chomper?"

"Right!" Chomper responded with an eager nod. "No Sharptooth is going to scare me away!" He then took a brave step down the new path. "Why, I can face any Sharptooth that tries to hurt me! Big or small! I'll make them run away with their tails between their legs!"

"Hahah, that's the spirit!" Rex comments with a laugh.

"Hmph, if you two say so." Dice wasn't showing it but he's beginning to like these two dinosaurs. Despite them being an annoyance at times they can be pretty entertaining and courageous, just like how he was when he was little. Well, no reason to waste time like this, they should go before it gets dark and things start to become even more dangerous. "Let's go then, follow me."

Rex and Chomper looked at each other before nodding, agreeing on this new path. Together the trio makes their way down the newly selected path. It was a narrower than the path they were using, sometimes they would find their shoulders bumping with both walls and they would have to squeeze through rather uncomfortably through it. Rex couldn't fathom what dinosaur in their right mind would go down this path, it was too narrow and the ground was horribly unforgiving with their feet. He winced as he had to squeeze through another narrower part of the path as some rocks poked and prodded his sides. "Ugh! Dice, what kind of path is this!?"

"Yeah, this is too hard!" Chomper complained as he was struggling to keep up, getting left behind with all these obstacles.

Dice slowly moved along the path as he takes the lead. His claws scrape against a part of the wall as he squeezed through another narrow point. "Nnngh! Funny, I don't remember this path being _this _hard to navigate through!" He looks at one wall and notices it's just a bunch of rocks. He plants his front paws against the firm wall and pushes against it pressing his back against the other wall. He manages to give way to the rocks as they roll down, making more of them roll off to make the road a bit more open. "Must've been a recent earth shake or something," Dice grunts as he kept pushing his back into the wall to make more rocks slide down, "All these rocks must've caved this path in."

"Agh…!" Rex covers his head with his paws as some rocks roll down and land on his head, knocking his noggin a bit hard. "If you keep that up we'll get caved in as well."

"Heh…Well, what's life without taking risks?" Another good push from Dice makes a lot of the rocks slide down, making some of the path more spacious. But unfortunately too much of the rocks began to fall down, raining down on the three Sharpteeth.

"Agh! A dead one!" Chomper protests as he covers his head from the raining rocks. With nowhere else to go the three of them rushes down the path as fast as they can, squeezing through the narrow path as fast as they could before the falling rocks would claim them. Soon they could see a broader light up ahead and they went for it, the exit to this horrible path right in front of them. They got to the end and found themselves out in the open, out of that path just in time before all the rocks completely caved in on the path, barely avoiding a crushing end.

Turning around and seeing the path completely caved in Rex sighs in relief as he falls down on a sitting position. "Phew, that's the last time I take one of your paths…"

Dice stretched out his limbs and looked at Rex before replying. "Heh, it wasn't that bad. Suck it up, kid."

Rex gave a rather soft glare at Dice before getting up on all fours. "I think I'll ignore that." He shook his head to ruffle up the feathers on his head before looking around at their new surroundings. "Where are we anyway…?"

Chomper looked around as well after having his share of panting. It looks as if they just got spit out from the rocky regions of the Fire Region and into the actual area with fire. There are a lot of pits full of fire and some of them are even spitting out a bit of them, scattered here and there like a connect-the-dots puzzle. Right now the three of them are standing on a ledge keeping them high up from the pits and the smoke, but when they get down there- which they'll have to- they'll be at the mercy of the unbearable heat of this volcanic region.

"Oh man…" Rex mutters. "This is the place Tanner warned us about."

"Tanner told us to stay away from this place." Chomper cooed. "This place looks…" The mere thought of the flowing fire down there made Chomper step back with a gulp. Suddenly horrible memories came back to him, and it made him even more scared. "I-I don't want to go down there, I'd rather stay here or try to go back to find another way to get to the others."

Dice turned his head to the little Sharptooth and gave him a look. "You rather risk climbing over all those rocks than just taking a little walk through the heat?" He shook his head and turned his head back to the view ahead of them. "Good luck with that."

Rex gave a glare at Dice, how can he be this insensitive? He turned, walked over to Chomper and gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't worry, Chomper. We'll get through this, just stick by me and we'll get to the others in no time."

Chomper was still scared and shook his head. "I…I'd rather not…I don't want to cross through there…"

Rex frowned, unable to grasp what has Chomper so scared. "Gee, are you really this scared of the heat or something?"

Chomper shook his head. "You don't understand…I…I'm scared of flowing fire…"

"Scared of flowing fire?" Rex echoed. He looked over his shoulder to the reddish place before looking back again at Chomper. "Wh…Why are you scared of it? I mean, I know it can be scary to look at, but it's not that bad."

"No, it's not that…" Chomper took another loud gulp before giving a sigh, giving in. He can't hold this in any longer, ever since he got to this place he's been on edge, trying to hide his fear with being bothered by the heat. "You see…" He starts in a low voice. "About a long time ago, we were coming back home after we left Yu's pack the last time we were together…"

"_We always had to cross his hot place with flowing fire before getting into the desert…During that time we were being chased by other big Sharpteeth like my parents. It was one of those times where there were a lot of them trying to look for food. One managed to corner us and attack us in that hot place…And well…An earth shake happened and split the ground a bit, and flowing fire began to come out from the hole on the ground…And then…And then that Sharptooth that tried to attack us fell in…It was horrible, he was roaring in agony trying to get out of it…I…I was so terrified…How he tried to get out but he couldn't…I saw him burn to death…I…I just………It's just the way I saw him die…That horrible image! I was frozen, I couldn't take my eyes off of him…It was horrible…"_

So that was it. The reason Chomper feared the flowing fire so much. That image he saw of the Sharptooth dying in it plagued his mind, like a horrible scar. The fear and dread of dying in such a way, the fire slowly burning off your skin until you're nothing but bones. Rex could see the fear in Chomper's eyes and he sighed with a rub on his forehead, understanding Chomper's fear. He too recalls a permanent mental picture he still carries to this day, the image he still carries of how mutilated he left a certain Fast Biter back in the Great Valley a year ago.

"It's an understandable fear after hearing what happened." Rex looked over his shoulder to spot Dice standing right behind him, apparently hearing everything Chomper said. "Flowing fire is a very dangerous thing, just one touch can destroy you like nothing. Fortunately, it's an easy obstacle to avoid. It moves slow on land and can be dense, so on higher ground you're pretty much safe."

"You seem to know a lot about it." Rex points out with a slight uninterested look on his face.

Dice smiles a bit, showing his pride of the knowledge. "When you've traveled as much as I have you'll never leave the area without knowing something new about it." He then sets his eyes on Chomper and takes a step toward him. "Kid, I know how scary it is to face something you developed a phobia from, believe me. But trust me, you'll feel a whole lot better after you've faced your fear and gotten over it. Now trust me, you're going to face the flowing fire and you will overcome it. I know you can."

Rex couldn't help but smile a bit. Dice was the last person he would expect to try to give comfort and encouragement to Chomper, he just didn't seem like the kind of dinosaur to do such a thing. Sure the horns and the black stripes along his back gives a rather intimidating vibe from him, but just his personality and behavior is enough to make him give off a bad vibe.

"A bit of advice." Dice starts as he moves his head closer to Chomper. "If you see something that frightens you, imagine it as a frighten little raptor, as you see it cowering in fear the fear will go away."

Chomper thinks about the advice. It seemed silly at first, but it could work. Besides, how can you be scared of a little raptor who's more scared of you than you are of him? It could work on soothing his fears. How did he have not thought of it before? "And that works?" He asks Dice.

"Of course it works." Dice replies with a smirk. "It works for me, doesn't it?"

Chomper smiled a bit and nods. "Okay, I'll give it a try."

"That's the spirit." Dice smiles to the young Sharptooth. "Now, shall we go on before the Bright Circle decides to go down on us?"

Chomper nods, now with courage. "You bet!"

Rex watched as Dice went on to continue the track with Chomper following close behind. He smiled and shook his head with a chuckle, "The guy's alright." He commented, referring to Dice. He was wrong about him; he thought he was just a cocky Sharptooth with no sensitivity toward others. But seeing him now how he reached toward Chomper and gave him confidence gave him some newfound respect toward him.

With a smile Rex turned around and followed his friends.

* * *

Shino growled in pain. Blood splattered on the ground as Axel sank her teeth into Shino's right shoulder, painfully applying pressure into the muscle. Shino could feel her teeth grinding against the bone, desiring to tear off that chunk of meat from right out of him.

Vlad had watched in horror as he swayed from his injured state. This isn't the way he wanted this to go; he didn't want his friend to get involved in something he wanted to settle himself. Now he's lying there useless as the blood trickled from the deep wound to his face, the loss of blood disorienting him and keeping from doing anything to help his friend.

'_Come on, Shino…'_ Vlad pleaded, hoping his friend wouldn't fall in this battle.

"My my," Axel taunted as she kept her teeth into Shino's shoulder. "You're certainly lasting much longer than Vladie boy there. I must give you praise for that."

Shino grunted and glared at Axel with a cocky smirk. "You're pretty good yourself…But I'm not planning on dying here!" He slashed at Axel, managing to give her a small wound to her muzzle before she released him and stepped back.

Axel growled as she rubbed her muzzle from the slash injury. So he landed a scratch on her, huh? Not bad, not everyone gets the honor of laying a claw on her, let alone hurt her. She looked at Shino as the Dracovol winces from the wound to his shoulder, she really got her teeth deep there, and she could've ripped the meat easily if she wanted to. But no, she wants to toy with them for a while more before delivering the final blow.

Vlad was starting to get worried as he saw how Shino's wound kept bleeding. "Sh…Shino…?"

Shino looks over at Vlad and smirks. "Heh, don't worry. It's just a flesh wound. I can take it." He then moves his eyes toward Axel and growls. "This Alimon is strong though, very strong…I didn't think she would be this much of a problem…"

Axel smirked and took a step forward to Shino. "You know it's very rude to underestimate Alimons, kid." She commented with a rather threatening and toying voice. "That kind of attitude will cost you your life someday and I would hate to see the younger generation getting wiped out for it!"

"Heh." Shino mused. This Alimon talks too much. He takes a step forward but winces, his shoulder is a bit torn and it hurts just to move. OK, maybe he bit off a bit more than he could chew, but he can still fight.

But Axel was getting impatient with all the staring. With a snarl she pounced to get her paws on Shino. The Dracovol stepped back to avoid any kind of attack and growled as he swung a paw at Axel to swat her away but the Alimon took a step back to avoid and then jumped in for a full force tackle, striking Shino away and down to the ground. It's a horrific fight, and seeing an eight foot tall adult Alimon fighting a six foot tall teenage Dracovol seems to be a bit of an unfair fight.

Vlad slowly gets up on all four while gingerly rubbing and clutching the wound on the side of his face. It hurts so much, and it can't seem to stop bleeding. "Sh-Shino…!" He tried to speak out as the fight raged on in front of him. He takes a step forward to help his friend until a sudden yank on his tail stops him. "Huh?" He quickly swings his head back and growls. "You!"

Holding his tail was none other than Tana, Axel's sister. She came back and managed to sneak up on him and grab him by the tail to stop him from getting close to the fight. Her eyes show concern as she held Vlad back. "Let go!" Vlad demanded.

"Please don't." Tana pleaded as she held on to Vlad's tail. "If you get involved again Axel will kill you."

"But-"

"Come! Before she sees us!" She interrupted Vlad as she finally yanked his tail hard enough to pull him back. He yelps as he gets dragged and getting his arm grabbed in Tana's 

mouth, and before he could've protested he was once again being pulled by Tana down the tunnel toward the light at the end, no doubt the exit.

Upon hearing the running footsteps Axel looked behind herself and spotted Vlad making a run for it, however she missed her sister. She growls angrily, "Why yo-" She was interrupted however by a quick paw swing from Shino, striking her across the face and dropping her to the ground.

After knocking Axel down Shino looks up and down the tunnel, to his shock seeing Vlad being taken away by another Alimon. "Vlad!" Grunting from his shoulder wound he gives chase to them, following down the path to the light at the end of the tunnel.

It was a bit overwhelming on the eyes to run toward light like this after being in the tunnel's darkness for a good while. Vlad squinted his eyes as they closed to the light, exiting the tunnel and into the outdoors. For a second there he was blinded as he felt himself coming to a stop. He rubs his eyes and slowly opens his eyes to the reddish sky, he must've lost track of time, it's already noon and nighttime is just around the corner. He slowly looks around and sees Tana urging him to go, but he had to look around at where he is.

He was standing on top of a pathway along the mountain wall, standing basically at the edge of a cliff. It shocked him, he knows he's on the other side of the mountain from where he started, but he wasn't expecting to find this. It was like he was back home, a huge and vast land surrounded by mountain walls, except this one is fully surrounded, the mountains do not split apart in a certain section like his home. It was like another Great Valley, except this one had a more sinister atmosphere…Something that made a chill run up his spine…

**Fortress Valley**

"W-What is this place?" Vlad inquired to no one in particular. It was as if he was back home. Down below he could see Alimons, some of them in lines like an army of sorts, others socializing and a few just playing around. Or are they training? Has he stumbled upon the home of Alimons?

"Vlad!"

Vlad turns around to see his friend catching up to him. He was relief to see that he got away. "Shino…You're okay!" He exclaims as Shino catches up and falls down to catch his breath.

"Please…" Tana takes a step forward to Vlad and Shino, an action which made Vlad take on a defensive position. "You must hurry and leave. Quickly, before they see you."

"Huh?" Vlad was finding this a bit confusing. "Why are you helping us? Aren't you Axel's sister?"

Tana hesitates a bit, but in the end she nods. "Yes, but please understand, I am not like her. I do not wish to see you getting killed by my sister. Please, hurry and go!"

Vlad was about to say something else before hearing incoming footsteps coming from behind him. It was her. Even the growling he hears is familiar. Vlad and Shino look over their shoulders to see a figure walking out from the cavern, and as it comes to light the identity is unmistakable. Axel!

"Oh you two are good at running away." Axel comments with a rather annoyed look on her face. "But the odds have turned; now you are in my turf. Yes, the Fortress Valley, soon to become a utopia for us Darkarians and the beginning point for our plan!"

Vlad and Shino take a step back, nearly forgetting they are standing at the edge of the cliff. They're trapped unless they run down the path to their left, but that leads down to where all of the Alimons are. Vlad looks to his right and blinks in shock, Tana is gone! Was she actually trying to help them or was she just trying to get them into a trap?

"But the game is over…" Axel snarls. "I've toyed with you two long enough, now I will tear you two apart limb by limb…!"

"Heh…" Shino smirks as he stands ready on all four. "Vlad, this was some hunt, huh? Looks like we got cornered." He glanced at Vlad and sees him scared and shaking. "Hey, don't be scared now. Remember, a good hunter doesn't give up until the life is taken from right out of him." He gave his meanest glare to Axel and growled. "This is the hunt we came here for; now let's go home with the trophy!"

This was it. There is no turning back. They would have to face Axel down once and for all in this very spot. Vlad gave a heavy sigh as he got ready; despite the wounds they both have suffered they're willing to fight until the very end. Axel grinned at the look these two are giving her; this is the fight she was expecting from them both. "That look…" She started as she looked into Vlad's eyes. "Hahah, it's the same one she gave me before I killed her!"

Vlad growled ferociously and charged, ready to slice into her. He lunged for a bit but Axel jumped to the side. As she strafed she took note of Shino running in for a good slash to her body, so she turned and in a good swift move she swung her tail and slammed it into Shino, knocking him down hard to the ground. Vlad jumped and went for a tackle; a move with Axel charged in and rammed her head against Vlad's, her superior strength beating out Vlad and knocking him back to the ground, no doubt leaving the child with a headache.

Shino rubbed his ribs with a snarl. There's no time to take his licks, this is a battle in which no slack is going to be given. He stands up and goes for a downward slash as Axel turned, but the Alimon is attentive to her surroundings and leaned her body back, avoiding the attack by inches. This shocked Shino, but Axel didn't waste any time and lunged, opening her jaw and clamping them shut around his muzzle.

Shino's eyes widened and closed sharply as Axel mercilessly applied pressure to her bite, wounding his muzzle as blood began to trickle down to the ground. The pain was unbearable, biting into a Dracovol's snout is one of the most painful attacks it can be inflicted to a Dracovol, consider it a weakness.

Vlad slowly got up, a bit wobbly from the head butt he received. His world was spinning, and before he could get his bearings Axel moved his body and pulled Shino along with her, throwing his body up and away with her strength and toward Vlad's direction. Shino collided against Vlad in a powerful slam, it was a wonder no ribs were broken from such a feat. A moment later the two Dracovols lay on the ground in pain, Shino on top of Vlad.

"Nnngh…" Vlad groaned as he slowly tried to push Shino off of him. "Shino…You okay…?"

Shino groaned as he slowly got off of Axel. He could taste his own blood in his mouth from the wound and snarled in a rage. "That Alimon…!" Immediately he turned around to get some payback. He threw bites and slashes at her, but the Alimon was far too agile for the lad. Axel laughed as she stepped back and to the sides to avoid Shino's attacks, she was actually enjoying the fight.

But then it was enough. Axel stopped and lifted a paw, grabbing one of Shino's arms before he could've landed a blow on her. She grinned at him before she pulled him in, allowed his body to fall on top of hers and she stood up on her hind legs with the momentum of the pull, throwing Shino off of him and against the mountain wall.

Vlad watched in horror as Shino yelled in pain from the slam before falling to the ground. He was semi-conscious from the collision to the wall, his back aching. "Shino!" Vlad cried. In a sudden rage he charged and jumped with his mouth open to attack on Axel.

But Axel didn't forget about him. Upon hearing his cry she turned around to see him jump at her, and on that moment she jumped as well up to her hind legs, opened her mouth and clamped them shut on Vlad's shoulder as he was close. Vlad cried out in pain from the bite and then another yell of pain as Axel slammed him down to the ground on his back. His cries of pain only continued as Axel applied pressure to the bite, threatening to shatter the bones in his shoulder.

"Hmhmhmhm…" She chuckled as she could taste Vlad's blood in her mouth, keeping her bite closed tight around Vlad's shoulder. "Not a bad struggle, Vlad. But I'm afraid this is it for you…" She applied more pressure on the bite to make a point, making Vlad's cry of pain even louder. Practically echoing thorough the valley. "My my, what a loud mouth you are…"

Things were starting to look grim for Vlad. So this is the way it's going to end, huh? Killed by the same Alimon who killed his mother. What a way to go…

Axel was more than ready to end this. To prove so she released her bite around Vlad's shoulder and stood over him. She grinned as Vlad's blood dripped from her mouth; she was 

going to enjoy this very much. She slowly raised her paw and flexed her claws, her eyes was set on the wound she made earlier on Vlad's face. Another good slash there and Vlad's face would come right off…

"No!" A voice came out of nowhere and took Axel by surprise. A figure zoomed by and tackled Axel off her feet and away from Vlad, just in the nick of time.

"W-What..?" Vlad weakly muttered. He slowly turned over and got up on all four and weakly looked around. His eyes widen and his weakness suddenly disappeared upon setting his gaze upon his rescuer. "Kedem!"

His slightly chubby green skinned friend, Kedem, stands there on all four gasping for breath after zooming in like that for the save. Despite his slightly chubby state he can be pretty fast and his tackles can be pretty hurtful. Kedem's eyes are fixed on Axel's body before hearing a grunt behind him. "Shino!" Kedem cries as he spots his downed friend behind him.

But more surprises are in store for them. Almost as soon as Kedem showed up Vlad heard a sound behind him and looked up to spot something that made him happy yet scared at the same time. "Dad! Blackpaw!"

Two powerful Dracovols, one blue-green the other grey and black, land on the ground behind Vlad. Zarek, Vlad's father and guardian of Crescent Valley and Blackpaw, Zarek's best friend and partner as guardian of Crescent Valley.

"Hehe…" Axel began to chuckle as she slowly got up, rather liking how the situation has changed. "I must admit, you got me good there…" She grinned as she lifted her head up and met with a familiar face. "My my, this day has been quite a nostalgic one."

"Axel…!" Zarek snarled as he exposed his razor sharp teeth. Instantly horrible memories related to this Alimon flooded his mind. He hasn't forgotten what this Alimon did to him many years ago…

Blackpaw kept his cool, sensing the tension in the air. He knows better than to get in Zarek's way when he's upset, so he did the next best thing he could. "Vlad…" He muttered as he made his way over to Vlad and kneeled down next to him, tending to his wounds. "Are you alright?"

Vlad absently nodded to Blackpaw but kept his gaze on his father. He has never seen him so agitated and angry before like this. But then again this is Axel; of course he was going to expect her to bring out the beast out of any dinosaur.

"Good grief, you look horrible." Kedem commented as he was helping Shino with his injuries and trying to help him up.

"Oh shut up." Shino blurted out.

Between Axel and Zarek not a word is spoken. Zarek was giving Axel a glare that could practically kill, his teeth exposed and his claws being clutched hard, nearly drawing blood from his own paws. Axel was nearly the same, but instead of angry she was delighted to see her old friend again. When was the last time she saw him? Back during the raid? Maybe once or twice after? It was like some great big family reunion.

"Blackpaw!" Zarek commanded to his best friend. "Take Vlad and Shino and go back home! I'll follow you shortly after!"

Blackpaw nods. "Understood." He helps Vlad up to his feet and watches as Kedem helps Shino group up with them. After having all three children together Blackpaw watches as Zarek takes two steps forward to face off against Axel; to protect his son and, above all, take revenge.

"I've never seen your dad so angry before…" Kedem comments to Vlad.

"Yeah…" Vlad responds. "Look at his eyes…He's like a different Sharptooth…"

It went on like that for almost a minute, Dracovol and Alimon glaring at each other, rival against rival. Who knows when things will start to get bad? The only movements done were their tails and a few muscle twitches and shifts in stances…

And then a commotion. Blackpaw winced and looked down the path to see Alimons charging toward them. Not good, they must've spotted the disturbance and saw them, intruders, in their territory. "Zarek!" Blackpaw calls out to his friend. "The Alimons are coming!"

Zarek growls, what bad timing. Axel on the other hand couldn't help but chuckle before breaking into laughter. Is this a joke? Zarek, one of the strongest Dracovols she knows, is actually going to retreat? "Hahahah. What's wrong? Are you not going to stay for the main event? Things are starting to get interesting here now!" She grins at Zarek with narrowed eyes. "Come Zarek, old friend, I've been counting the days for another encounter such as this."

Zarek snarls at Axel. "Don't toy with me, Alimon!" As much as he would like to get his claws on Axel, he simply cannot risk it. Three children, two wounded, and one adult. The adults can each take at least two Alimons, but this is their territory, they're going to get outnumbered and killed. He knows when to retreat, and this is one of those times.

"Blackpaw." Zarek calls out. Blackpaw nods and takes Vlad in his arms. He then spreads his wings as he gets ready to fly.

Kedem tries to help Shino but the Dracovol doesn't want any. "I'm fine, really."

"You sure?"

"Really, I'm fine."

Zarek gives a glare at Axel. "The next time we meet, I assure you it'll be the last…"

Axel grins at Zarek. "Oh how I'm looking forward to it, my old friend."

"Hmph." With that Zarek opened his wings, jumped and began flapping them, slowly ascending with his glaring eyes still set on Axel as the Alimon slowly shrunk in size as he kept on ascending. Kedem was next to follow the guardian of Crescent Valley, his frighten eyes set on the grinning Alimon that fought and endangered his friends' lives.

Blackpaw was next as he began ascending as well, but along his ascent to leave something went wrong. One of the Alimons that were approaching jumped on a boulder and then jumped off of it. The Alimon soared and with his paws grabbed onto Vlad's leg, who Blackpaw was carrying in his arms. "Aagh!" Vlad yelped as he felt the extra weight pulling him down.

Blackpaw was caught off guard as well and nearly lost his grip on the child. "Guck! Vlad!"

The Alimon was holding on, he wasn't intending on letting the intruders go. But there was something he wasn't counting on. He wasn't expecting another Dracovol close to him to stop him. Suddenly Shino jumped and pounced on the Alimon, setting Vlad free and pinning the Alimon down on the ground. Vlad's eyes widen as he saw his friend putting his life in danger to save him. "Shino!!"

Shino grunted as he held down the Alimon to the ground. He heard the other Alimons coming closer to him and he growled. He looked at the Alimon he was pinning down as he struggled to get him off before lowering his head down with a smirk. "Vlad…" He started. He then looked up at his friends as they made their departure. "It's been fun…"

"Shino!!" Vlad cries out. He looked up at Blackpaw and then at Kedem. "We gotta help him!"

Kedem was about to fly down to help his friend, but before he could even move Zarek grabbed his arm to stop him. There just wasn't any time for it. Next thing they all knew the Alimons made it to the scene and they all ganged up on Shino. One of them tackled him and pinned him to the ground, and before he knew it all of them captured him. It was too late, Shino's fate is sealed.

Vlad's eyes were glued on that spot as they couldn't do anything else but to fly away to escape. He was like a lifeless doll in Blackpaw's arms as his eyes were set on Fortress Valley as they flew away back home. "Shino…" He muttered, unable to believe what happened. "Shino…Shino…" The situation then suddenly hit him like a giant rock slide landing on his head.

"SHINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

* * *

"Aagh!"

Rex and Chomper were startled as a pit of lava suddenly spat flowing fire upward. They could've sworn all that fire was going to fall over them and melt them away. It was just a scary sight watching it rise up like that up close. The heat of it as it rose.

"Geez, you two scare easy." Dice comments as he continued on the path to reach the others.

"Easy for you to say…" Rex mutters. "You've probably been here a lot of times to already get used to these things." He looked at Chomper to make sure his friend is alright, and as expected the Sharptooth is quivering in fright. "Chomper, you okay?"

Chomper shakes off the quivering and tries to look brave. "Yeah, I'm okay! After all, why should I be scared of scared little raplets?"

Rex chuckled a bit. Sounds like Chomper is taking Dice's advice quite seriously to get through here. He lets his eyes wander around. The area is quite flat with a lot of fire pits scattered all over. There's so much smoke around here it's a bit hard to navigate through it. They have been relying on Dice's memory to get through this place, and so far they have been traveling across this place with no problem.

"Alright." Rex starts as he softly nudges Chomper. "Let's keep going."

Chomper nods a bit shakily and follows Dice. Scared little raplets…Scared little raplets…Come on Chomper, these are just scared little raplets…They're more scared of you than you are of them…Just put out your chest to them and they won't be so scary anymore…

Dice kept a watchful eye out, making sure he doesn't accidentally step into any of the fire pits and hurt himself. This place is thicker with smoke than he last remembered, but then again it was a long time ago and this place has changed since the last time. A few of the paths he used to know were blocked by rock slides, it was one of the reasons he and Silence got cornered by that Sharptooth earlier.

"Agh, there's so much smoke." Rex comments as he followed what he could only see in front of him- Dice's tail. "I can't see anything."

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Chomper inquires as he too follows Dice's tail.

"For the fourth time, I know where I'm going!" He hollers back to the others. "I know this place like the back of my paw, we'll make it!"

"Well, excuuuuse me…" Rex mutters. Dice can be a nice guy sometimes but man can he have such an attitude…

Dice moved his head left and right. This thick smoke is making it worse to navigate; there are so many things that can go wrong. He hears some fire pits blowing up fire, it manages to light up the path as night is here, but that won't help much if he can't see through the smoke. _'Come on, where is that exit.'_

Rex looks up to the stars, it would be so much easier if the stars could show them the way, if he could find the brightest star or something, a sign that could lead them to their friends. Dice narrows his eyes a bit and smiles triumphantly; he can see the mountains where they came from. He's positive from there he can find Silence.

"Haha." Dice smiles. "There it is."

"You mean we're there?" Chomper asks enthusiastically.

"Hehe, see Chomper?" Rex comments as he nudges his Sharptooth friend. "That wasn't so bad, was it? You conquered your fears!"

"Sure did!" Chomper grins. "Now there's nothing that can scare me!" A pit suddenly spat flowing fire close by, scaring Chomper from its exploding sound and hid behind Rex. "Uhh…" Chomper poked his head out from behind Rex. "Maybe just a little…"

Rex laughed. Even Dice couldn't help but chuckle, these kids are a pawful. "If you two are finished here I would like to…"

The ground suddenly shook once. An earth shake?

The ground shook again, this time startling the group. What the heck was that?

A third time. This is starting to scare them. What the heck is going on?

Chomper started to shake again, but not because of the flowing fire. He recognizes those earth shakes, those were footsteps. "G-Guys…" He began. "That's a Sharptooth…"

Rex and Dice began to look around. A Sharptooth? Here? Where is it? Rex turned around, looked up and gasped. There, just up ahead he sees it. It's a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a big one too! They forgot Sharpteeth pass by through these parts.

"Get down…" Dice commanded as he lowered himself down low to the ground, using the smoke as shield. Rex and Chomper did the same to hide from it, hoping the smoke covers their scents.

They held their breath as the Sharptooth took a few steps closer to them, sniffing the air and looking around. Rex watched and gulped silently, reading the Sharptooth's moves. He eyed and noticed a scar on the Sharptooth's face, down from its left eye to its left arm. That's a horrible scar, how did it get that wound?

The three of them then heard chirps from Fast Biters. Just what they needed, more Sharpteeth. They saw the Fast Biter's silhouettes through the smoke, there are two of them. Great, just what they needed.

"This is bad…" Dice mutters.

"Just stay still…" Chomper advices, leaving Rex with nothing else to say but to gulp.

The Sharptooth looked around, curiously looking at flowing fire as they spat from the pits on the ground. It was a dangerous area of the Fire Region, and it's a suicidal place for a Sharptooth as big as itself. The Sharptooth roared loudly, prompting the group to wince and cover their heads. It was a deafening roar, and one they hope they would not have to listen again.

The Sharptooth took one good look around before turning around and leaving, leaving nothing behind. Dice heard the Fast Biters again and moved his eyes, spotting their silhouettes through the smoke as they too began to move out. How odd, two Fast Biters following a Sharptooth?

"Are…Are they gone…?" Rex gulps as he slowly began to stand up.

Dice kept his eyes where he last saw the two Fast Biters, he didn't see anything. "…Yes, they're gone now…"

"Man, did you see the scar on that big one? That must've been horrible." Rex commented about the Sharptooth's scar. That was the biggest, longest and most painful looking scar he has ever laid his eyes on. It impresses him the Sharptooth survived such a wound in the first place.

"Now's not the time to admire, kid." Dice growled to the Dracovol. "If they're still here then we have more of a good reason to hurry up and get out of here with the others!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The smoke around the area began to clear up a bit, and good timing too, the darkness is getting darker. Rex looked around as the smoke clears up and sighs in relief; he's finally able to see his own legs again.

Chomper couldn't help but smile as the smoke began to go away. He turns around and sees the mountains that they were going for. His spirits lifting he began to run toward it. The smoke is still a bit thick but it's not going to stop him from getting out of here.

"Uh, Chomper…!" Dice began as he sees Chomper running for the mountains, remembering something from this place. "You shouldn't run! Chomper! Wait!"

But it was too late. Before Rex knew it Chomper disappeared from his sights with a scream. "Chomper!!" Rex dashed toward where Chomper disappeared and managed to stop in time. He stopped right at the edge of a cliff, and what's worse there's lava down there!

Chomper was lucky however, he managed to grab onto some protruding rocks along the cliff's wall. He breathes heavily from the scare, feeling the heat from something below he was sure he wasn't going to like. He looks down and panics with a scream, kicking his legs as he tries to pull himself up. "Aaah! Help!!"

"Chomper!" Rex cries as he goes down low and extends out his paw to try to save Chomper, but he was a foot away from his paw. He grits his teeth and tries to stretch out his paw even more, but he just couldn't reach him. "Guh…Just a little more…!" He almost slipped but he felt Dice grabbing him by the tail, saving him from falling forward.

"Dang it, kid! Be careful!" Dice said a mouthful as Rex's tail lies in his mouth. He pulls back to keep Rex from falling into the pit as well, but the Dracovol is kind of heavy and his paws began to slip.

"Hang on…" Rex pleaded as he reached down to Chomper. His Sharptooth friend looked up at him with widen eyes, he could see the fear in his eyes; death by lava, how Chomper began to fear it since that traumatizing day. The moment he saw tears beginning to form in his eyes Rex just knew he had to save Chomper.

""H-Help…Rex…" Chomper whispered. His voice was almost done from how scared he was. Rex gritted his teeth as he reached out just a little bit more. He could feel his claw touching Chomper's paw, he was almost there. The situation began to get even worse as the rocks Chomper was holding on to started to give way, he could fall at any moment. And the damn heat isn't making it easier on them either!

Then it happened. One rock Chomper was holding onto gave way. Chomper panicked as he now is hanging by one rock, and this one is giving way too. "No…No!" Rex cried. His eyes shot wide open as the last rock gave way and Chomper's terrified scream flooded his mind. Rex gave a sudden stretch in a panic and by pure luck Chomper's paw was now in his grasp.

Dice's eyes widen as the sudden pull pulled him closer to the edge of the pit, but he wasn't going to let go of his friend's tail. Then the ground under Rex's feet gave way and he slipped, and if it wasn't for Dice's strength they would've fallen into the lava by now.

"Guck…Nnnngh!!" Dice grunted as he's now holding onto the weight of two dinosaurs. He couldn't do this; he was slowly being pulled to the edge. He tried pulling back, but to no avail.

"Rex…I'm scared…!" Chomper whimpered as his eyes are glued down to the lava as he dangled by one arm.

"Don't worry Chomper, I got you!" Rex tried to comfort his friend, but things aren't looking good. The ground under his feet gave way and now the only thing keeping him from falling is Dice's grip on his tail.

Dice was slowly losing the tug of war; his feet are close to the edge now. Rex and Chomper closed their eyes as they waited for their impending doom, but Dice wasn't going to have any of that. With all of his strength he could muster he pulled back, and surprisingly Rex and Chomper slowly began to be lifted up out of the pit. Dice?

Close but no dice. Dice could feel someone pulling on his tail. But he couldn't look to see his partners; he just had to save his two friends first. Slowly but surely Rex and Chomper were pulled up to safety, and as soon as Rex felt ground under his feet he did his share and pulled up, saving Chomper and pulling him out of the pit of fire. On that last tug Rex flew back and landed on his tail with Chomper safe in his arms. They both sighed heavily in relief.

"Whew…" Rex took a big breath of air. The danger now over. He looked at Chomper in his arms, the poor Sharptooth is horribly frightened and in tears.

"R-Rex…" Chomper said between breathes. He looks at Rex's eyes and buries his face in his chest. "Thank you…"

Rex smiled warmly and hugged his friend close. "You're welcome, Chomper…"

Dice panted heavily after that exhausting work. It's over. They're safe.

"Dice…" That voice…

Dice turned around to see his helpers and couldn't help but smile. Tanner, Yu, Terrel, and Silence; they found them in the nick of time. Dice kept his eyes on Silence and smiled warmly. "Silence…"

Silence smiled and made her way to her mate, staring into his eyes. She couldn't be more proud of him, helping others and keeping them safe. This is the mate she chose to spend her life with. And she never looked back.

"Guys!" Yu and Terrel cried out at the same time as they ran toward Rex and Chomper and pounced them both to the ground, giggling and laughing as they're back together again. Nuzzling and hugging each other, each of them relieved they're all alright.

"Hahahah, how did you guys found us?!"

"Silence caught Dice's scent and helped us find you guys! And it looked like we made it just in time!"

"Better late than never!"

Tanner chuckled to himself. He himself is happy to see them again. After seeing the path that Dice supposedly took blocked by a rock slide it was hard trying to find them again. Luckily Silence knew Dice's scent all too well and helped them find them. And lucky that she did too, if they were a second too late they probably would've lost them in that fire pit. 

He looked over his shoulders to the other side, that's the way they needed to go to get out of here. But for now they could use the rest after all the trouble in this place.

Tanner looked over to Silence and Dice and immediately veered his eyes away. The couple was happily nuzzling each other in a loving manner…

* * *

"So, this is where we part ways."

It took a twenty minute walk to exit the Fire Region. And now that they're out, it's time for Silence and Dice to part ways from their newfound friends. They had their own path to take, and Rex and the others still have a mission to do.

"Where are you two going now?" Rex asks, a bit curious.

"Well, I still wish to go to a place I always went to find peace." Dice replied. He looked at Silence and gave her a gentle nuzzle before continuing. "I've been meaning to show it to Silence at least once."

"Well I hope your travels will be a safe one." Tanner wishes to them both.

"I hope we'll see each other again!" Yu exclaims with a smile.

"That'd be lovely." Silence responds. It would be nice to meet them all again sometime in the future. It was fun traveling with them through the Fire Region and feels sad to see them go, but it is how life is sometimes.

Dice nods and looks at Silence. "We'd better get going."

Silence smiles to her mate and nods. "Goodbye." She said goodbye to her new friends and departed along with Dice, padding to the southwest.

"Goodbye!" Rex waved as he said his farewells.

"Good luck on your travels!" Chomper cried as he waved farewell.

Dice looked back at them and nodded. "Likewise!" And with that the couple continued on their way, disappearing in the distance with only the Night Circle as their companion.

"You know, Dice wasn't such a bad guy." Rex commented after seeing them leave.

"Yeah, I like him!" Terrel added with a smile.

"Heh!" Yu smirked as he nudged his cousin with his foot. "If I recall you were trying to make it a point that you didn't like him."

Terrel yelped from the nudge and looked up at his cousin. "Hey, I can change my mind you know!"

Rex, Chomper and Yu giggled at the raplet's expense. It was a dangerous journey, but they managed to overcome the deadly rocky terrains of Threehorn Peak and braved through the firely pits of the Fire Region. The first day is over and they'll have to spend the night around here. But with a few more days to go, their journey has only just begun.

"Well, guys." Tanner starts after taking a few steps forward. "We have our own path to follow, so let's go for it!"

Rex, Chomper, Yu and Terrel look at each other and they nod at the same time. "Okay then!" Rex nods with a smile. "Let's go then. To Crescent Valley!"

"To Crescent Valley!" The group cheered as they all continued on their way south.

Little do they know that a storm is brewing further on south, and things are about to get worse the closer they get to Crescent Valley…


	13. Shock from the Past

The Bright Circle was starting to set down. Soon the Night Circle will dominate the night sky along with all the stars. The wind was starting to get chilly, and it's anyone's guess how the Longneck Biters can live so high up in these mountains without getting cold.

Littlefoot was standing at the edge of a small pass at the top of the mountains that protect the Great Valley, facing the Mysterious Beyond. It's incredible, no matter how many adventures Littlefoot has in the Mysterious Beyond; he cannot stop discovering new things. He wonders how big the Mysterious Beyond really is, he probably hasn't even scratched the surface of it despite all of his adventures. And as beautiful and scary the Mysterious Beyond is, he still can't grasp at the thought that Rex is still out there. How long has it been since he last saw his familiar face?

"Nice view, isn't it?" Zitro, or Ken'ichi as he prefers to be called, comments as he approaches toward Littlefoot.

"It's beautiful." Littlefoot replies with a nod. "The Mysterious Beyond is just so big…Sometimes I dream what else is left to see out there. What secrets there might be lying in wait for us to discover them?"

Zitro nods, almost as if sharing the dream as well. "There's a lot left to see out there in the world, you never know what you'll discover next. It's one of the many reasons it's known as the Mysterious Beyond."

Littlefoot nods in agreement, reflecting back on all the times he and his friends have gone out there. The time they went to the Land of Mists to retrieve Sun Flowers for his sick grandpa, the time they found the Big Water and the Mysterious Island, Chomper's home. The world is indeed full of wonder, and it has always fascinated Littlefoot most of all.

Just as Zitro turned around to head back into the caves Littlefoot turned around, ready to throw a question, one of many he has thrown at the Longneck Biters all day. "What do you know of the Mysterious Beyond?"

Zitro stopped in his tracks, thinking on the question at paw. Wow, it's been so many Bright Circles he himself has set foot out there in the Mysterious Beyond. He has told so many stories and histories to the group that his throat is practically begging for rest, but he still has things to say for the visitors.

"Well…" He began as he turned back to Littlefoot. "It's a huge and vast place, with plenty to find and discover. It's much bigger than you might think. There are lots of places with plenty of green food, water, caves, and even other valleys."

Littlefoot blinked and tilted his head a bit at Zitro. "What, really? There are more valleys than just the Great Valley?"

Zitro nods. "Oh yes, lots more than you might think. You'd be surprised at how much you can find out there. You never finish learning and discovering…"

"Wow…" Littlefoot couldn't stop thinking about it. He knew the Mysterious Beyond was vast and huge, but the way Zitro just described it he felt like it could go on forever. Does the Mysterious Beyond even have an end? You could go to the biggest mountain you could find and you could still see forever. He dreams what mystical places he would find out there someday, but one thing in particular has his curiosity.

"Have you ever been to these other valleys before?" Zitro nods in response, much to Littlefoot's delight. He suddenly beams and hops excitedly over to Zitro, throwing a fit of questions at the Longneck Biter. "Wow! How are they like? How different are they from the Great Valley? Do other leaf-eaters live there as well?"

"Hey hey, settle down." Zitro chuckled as he waved a paw the excited Longneck. "I've only been to two different valleys. Just settle down and I'll tell you about them." Like an obedient child Littlefoot settled down and sat down, a smile plastered on his face as he listened closely, much like he always does whenever he's told a story.

"Okay," Zitro began as he looked out to the Mysterious Beyond. "Like I said, I've only been to two valleys at least a couple of times before; Crescent Valley and Peace Valley."

"Crescent Valley? Peace Valley?" Littlefoot echoes with curiosity.

"Mm-hmm. You could call them cousins of the Great Valley. Crescent Valley is a huge valley much like this one; its mountain walls protect it as well, only not as much."

"How come?"

"You see, there's a huge opening in one part of the mountain wall, leading inside."

"Oh, like how the Night Circle looks in some nights?"

"Sort of, yeah. Leaf-Eaters live there as well; it's a beautiful valley much like your home here. A huge lake, a small green forest; it's beautiful…" Zitro looks back at Littlefoot for a moment before continuing. "As for the Peace Valley, well, it's much closer than Crescent Valley and safer too. It's smaller than your Great Valley, but it still has a range of mountains protecting it, and the only way in is through a series of caves. They're pretty hard to navigate in and you could get lost, but if you find your way through it you'll see the beauty Peace Valley holds. You'll see a lot of flowers and trees, and a very loud thundering fall."

"Wow…" Littlefoot didn't think other valleys as wonderful as the Great Valley exists.

Before Zitro could continue…

"Zitro." A youthful voice rings out from behind the Longneck Biter.

Zitro looks over his shoulder and turns around to greet the newcomer. A red Longneck Biter with yellow skin from the top of his head down along his back to the tip of his tail and a light-blue snout and underbelly. His feathers yellow and his claws are green. "Thunder…" Zitro mutters.

Littlefoot looks at the newcomer, Thunder, and gasps. He recognizes him. "You…I know you! You're that Longneck Biter that saved me at the Great Valley!"

Thunder stops his approach and looks at the young Longneck, giving off a small smile and chuckles to himself as he lifts a paw and runs it through his feathers. "Oh yeah, I remember you. You ran after that Darkarian thinking he was a Longneck just like you." He shakes his head and looks back at Littlefoot with a stern look. "Not too bright, are you?"

Littlefoot gave an insulted glare at him, mumbling to himself as he looked down at his forepaws before talking back to Thunder. "Well he did look like a Longneck to me from far away…And he was running away from me, I couldn't get a good look at him."

Zitro couldn't help but chuckle. "Go easy on him, Thunder. He's new to our kind. He didn't know any better." He then turned his attention to Thunder, inquiring about his presence. "Anyway, what brings you here? It must be something pretty urgent message to send the fastest one of our pack to deliver it to me."

"Well yeah, it's important." Thunder responded with a nod. "It's from Donovan, actually. He wants you back to run you through some sightings our spies picked up about the Darkarians and other important information from Phantom's last visit."

Zitro hummed and nodded. "All right, I'll be right over."

Thunder nooded in response and turned his head to Littlefoot. "I'd be more careful if I were you. Things are getting pretty dangerous lately. Your curiosity can get you killed if you don't watch it." Finishing with that, Thunder turns around and takes his leave.

Littlefoot watched as he left and slowly lowered his eyes down to the ground. He guesses Thunder is sort of right, but can you blame him for his actions? He went after that Longneck Biter mistaking him for one of his own kind, worried that he was going to be eaten like that Spiketail he and his friends found. Either way, he was very thankful Thunder showed up when he did and saved his tail.

"Don't let Thunder get you down." Littlefoot lifted his eyes back to Zitro as he spoke to him. "He's very direct and doesn't beat around the bush. He means well but he usually comes out like a jerk."

Littlefoot giggled a bit as Zitro gave off a smirk upon saying the word 'jerk'. To be honest Thunder does have a sort of history about being direct and coming off as a jerk. Like Zitro said, Thunder never bothers to beat around the bush, he always go direct to what he wants to say and doesn't mind how he expresses his opinion and mind. Needless to say, he's not too popular with some members of the Rock Ranger.

"Now, if you excuse me." Zitro began as he turned around to take his leave. "You should head home too before the Bright Circle fully goes down. It's pretty late."

Littlefoot looks up at the crimson skies, time sure has flown. "Yeah, I guess it is." Seeing Zitro moving away Littlefoot sprints to catch up to Zitro, after all he's still unfamiliar with the cave system in the Great Valley walls and needs his help to get back to the Valley. "Hey, wait! I still have so many questions about you and your kind!"

"Haha, you're definitely one curious child. Can't it wait until tomorrow? After all, you and your friends are always welcomed here."

"_But remember; keep our existence here a secret. For the whole valley to know we're here, could cause massive panic and they could try to go against us and chase us out. Without us here, the Darkarians would have a wide open opportunity to take the Great Valley."_

As Littlefoot and his friends were led back to the valley, he wondered how bad things would get for the Longneck Rangers if word got out that they exist within the Great Valley walls. He knows his grandparents would be a bit worried about the issue, but they would quickly accept their existence with them. After all, if they've been living there for a long time and haven't done anything to them, they must mean well and not pose a threat to them.

Mr. Threehorn is a different story though. If he catches wind that Sharpteeth live within the Great Valley walls he would gather an angry mob of Leaf Eaters and try to chase them away at the drop of a leaf. He'll most likely not accept the fact that they have been protected by their very enemies all this time. Either way, their existence will have to be kept a secret.

"It's a little hard to believe that all this time we had Sharpteeth like them living right under my noses and we never noticed." Cera pointed out as they all walked home.

"Oh yes, and to think that they have been protecting us all this time." Ducky adds with a nod as she rides on Spike's back. "It makes you think a bit more different on all Sharptooth. It does, it does."

"Yeah well, don't get used to it." Cera remarks with a scoff. "These guys may be different, but not all Sharpteeth are like that. Not out there in the Mysterious Beyond, that's for sure."

"Still," littlefoot began as he slowed down to a stop. "Even if they're friendly or not, I think we shouldn't tell the grown-ups about them."

The group stopped and turned back to Littlefoot, surprised to hear what he just said. Cera arched an eyebrow and stepped forward. "What?! After all we went through to find them, talk to them and learn about them, you don't want to tell the grown-ups that they're here?!"

"Me no understand, Littlefoot." Petrie continued as he hovered around Littlefoot. "Longneck Biters good. They friendly and protect us."

Ducky nods in agreement. "Oh yes, they were very nice to us and have protected us all this time."

"Why no tell?" Spike chimes in. It's rare when he speaks in more than one word, let alone two.

Littlefoot shakes his head; seems like his friends don't understand his motive. "Think about it, you guys. We all came to the Great Valley for one thing. To find protection from ever becoming food for Sharpteeth, right? If they ever find out that we've had Sharpteeth in the valley all along, everyone will get scared and grow into a panic. It doesn't matter if they've been protecting us."

"And even if some of the grown-ups accept that and are okay with it, we all know the rest of them will try to chase them away from the valley. Just like Stone said they would."

Cera arches an eyebrow. It does make sense, but the fact that Littlefoot has so much faith on the Longneck Biters protecting them rather irks her a bit. The way he makes it sound it devalues the protective status of the Great Valley's mountain walls, a utopia that they have fought so hard to find.

Cera just couldn't keep quiet. "Not that you don't have a point, Littlefoot. But how can you be so sure those Longneck Biters are the reason we haven't been attacked by Sharptooth all the time? We got so many rocks and mountains protecting us from the Mysterious Beyond!"

"I know, but you don't understand!" Littlefoot added as he stomped a foot forward. "Ken'ichi told us that there's another pack of Longneck Biters out there called the Darkarians. They're fighting against them to keep the Great Valley safe. If the Longneck Biters are chased away by the grown-ups, then there will not be anyone to stop them from getting into the valley."

Cera opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Littlefoot had a point, the Darkarians probably know about the caverns too. And if the Longneck Biters, the Rock Rangers, are chased out of the valley walls, then the Darkarians could use them to sneak into the valley and slaughter them. Of course her father could protect the dinosaurs of the Great Valley no problem, but against a whole pack at once could be a problem even for her father…

"Besides, we promised Stone we wouldn't tell on them." Littlefoot adds.

"All right, all right, we won't tell on them! Sheesh!" Cera replies with a snort. As right as Littlefoot may be, it doesn't help that it sometimes comes off as an annoyance to her. Littlefoot has always been this way, the one with reason of the group. Sure it was a bit annoying sometimes, but you can't go wrong with going along with him. It usually saves their lives when in dangerous situations.

"We did promise Stone." Petrie admits as he perches himself on top of Littlefoot's head.

Ducky nods. "Oh yes. After all, the Longneck Biters were very friendly to us; they will do no harm to us or the valley." She paused as she looked down at her big brother from his back. "Right, Spike?"

Spike lets out a happy hum and a nod, giving the children a bit of the giggles. So it's decided then, they keep the Rock Rangers a secret. After all, if the grown-ups know about them they could try to chase them away, and then who would be left to protect them from the Darkarians?

Littlefoot smiles and nods. "All right, then it's settled! It'll be our little secret."

After everyone agreeing, they all returned to their nests, their parents would probably be wondering where they've been. The Bright Circle is down so that means the meeting is over and everyone would be at their nests gathering for the night's sleep. They were all still scared from the Sharptooth attacks that have been happening lately. Who wouldn't be…

-------

_Yellow…Brown…Red…_

_It's those colors that I have learned to despise so much…_

_The colors that my mother last saw before she died…_

_It was those colors that killed Shino too…_

Depression has fallen onto Vlad ever since they returned from Fortress Valley. He wouldn't talk to anyone. Ever since they arrived he's been at the ledge near his home, lying on his stomach curled up with his head over his paws, just staring at either the stars above or just the valley. His wounds were treated at the lake and with some of the leaves around the valley, but he was basically mute.

And the fact that he angered his father isn't helping either. For the love of Dracovol, what has he done? He risked his life to get revenge, and he killed his friend in the process. What was he thinking? Was he even thinking? All he could think of was getting back at Axel, taking her life for taking his mother's.

He was just being an idiot. Every time Axel shows up or he even hears a mutter of the name, he gets angry and loses all reasoning. Now his recklessness cost him the life of a friend, and who knows how Shino's parents will react to the news. He can't face them after pulling their son to his death…

An ominous sound was heard behind him. Someone is coming. Vlad didn't need to look, he knew who it was. His father. After all, he did say he was going to look into some things with Blackpaw, possibly have a talk with Kedem about what happened today and probably break the news to Shino's father about his son's fate. The latter probably being the difficult one.

Zarek stood on all four about ten feet away from Vlad, looking at his son with a mild glare. "It was difficult breaking the news to Draco…" Zarek mentioned with a heavy heart.

Draco…Shino's father. He remembers him from the last time he saw him. Shino told them again and again how he's one of the top warriors of Crescent Valley, one of those who protect the valley from the any invaders and a great hunter. You can easily tell him apart by his black form and all the scars he has all over his arms, chest and face. Zarek and Draco are in good terms, and it's a painful thought that Vlad's recklessness could (and probably will) destroy all of that. Vlad tried to look back at his father, but he was too ashamed to do so.

Zarek just gave off a heavy sigh; you could tell he's angry. "What exactly were you thinking!? What were you trying to accomplish!?" The scolding made Vlad flinch. "Going off by yourself into Alimon territory, trying to hunt! Were you even thinking!?

"…I…" Vlad tried to speak, but the words just couldn't come out. "I…"

"No!" Zarek reacted with a growl. "You weren't thinking! You disobeyed one of our rules and went out to the Dangerous Beyond! You even went tried hunting an Alimon! And what's worse you went after THE Alimon!"

"I…I'm sorry…I just…"

"Because of you Shino is dead!! You know how painful it is for a father to lose his one and only son!? How could you have disobeyed us, disobeyed _me_, and just waltz into enemy territory by yourself!? Do you for some chance have a death wish!? Do you know how much I would've suffered if Kedem didn't tell us about you and Shino!? If I would have lost you!?"

"I know!" Vlad shouts back, turning his face to Zarek with tears in his eyes. "I was stupid, I know…I just…" Vlad lowered his head to his shaking paws, slowly clutching them into fists from the pain and sadness. "I just couldn't take it anymore…I couldn't take the nightmares of that Alimon killing my mother…And then her face…Her taunts…I couldn't…I wasn't thinking, I just…" Vlad closed his eyes and clutched his head, the tears streaming down his face. "What have I done…I killed him…I killed my best friend!!"

Zarek frowned as he listened to his only son sobbing, his thoughts on his friend Shino. Zarek knew Vlad had vengeance in his mind; it was what clouded his judgment and just went out there. And giving the fact that Shino is almost always trying to be the strong one of the group, much like his father, it pushed Vlad more into disobeying and almost committing suicide by going against an Alimon by himself. And to bear the pain of losing a friend, who he practically sent to his death, he must be feeling devastated.

"I wasn't thinking, I was so stupid!" Vlad continued with his self-deprecating, blaming and torturing himself. "I just couldn't help it, I wanted that Alimon dead so bad! For killing my mother and making my life a living hell and plaguing my sleep stories! I just couldn't go on with that Alimon still out there…!"

His father sighed heavily and stepped forward to his grieving son, nuzzling his head softly and lying down next to him. "I understand your pain, my son. I spend most of my waking moment thinking of that fateful night…When that wrenched Alimon came into our lives…" He sighed heavily as he rubbed his son's head as he buried his face into his shoulder as his sobbing continued. "I still remember that night…"

-------

_To think that a rainy night like this could hold so much pain and sorrow…_

_On the highest mountain surrounding the Great Valley, a couple of Dracovols were nesting. Their son only hatched a couple of days ago and had another egg ready to hatch any day now, they couldn't be any happier. He could walk and speak a little, but what was about to happen would be imprinted on his memory and psyche for the rest of his life._

_The male Dracovol wished to go out to look over the area. With a night as stormy as this he was worried they might have water pouring into their home and pose a threat to their offspring. He only went out for just a few moments, and it was during those crucial moments that their worst nightmare would happen._

_They were unaware that a group of Alimons organized a raid for that fateful night. They wanted to deliver a message to someone, and invading the Great Valley would be their best plan to do just that._

_It was unfortunate that this family of Dracovols would be caught in the middle of it all._

_The Alimon Raid was sprung. Pawfuls of Alimons made their way down the mountain walls, ready to attack the inhabitants of the valley. A group of Alimons was surveying the area, and found the cave of destiny…_

_One Alimon in particular was plain sadistic who would do anything for some fun. Inside she found a rare sight. A Dracovol and a little hatchling. How curious she was to hunt one of these. Oh what fun!_

_The Dracovol wasn't happy to see them though. She fought as best she could to protect her young. Four Alimons against one Dracovol, an unfair fight; but a mother will protect her young to matter what. Despite her injuries, being outnumbered, she continued to fight. She clawed, tore, bit, but it just wasn't enough. She was being overwhelmed and being critically injured, and one Alimon in particular was enjoying it._

_It was a bloody fight, and the little hatchling was petrified; calling out for his mother, crying for the Alimons to stop. It was a heartbreaking moment, and it literarily tore your heart from your chest when the final blow was struck, and silence swept over the cavern._

"_Looks like it's just you and me…" The would-be murderer menaced the little one as it towered over the nearly dead Dracovol. You could see the hatchling's mother trying to hold onto her life to protect her little one._

_The Alimon grinned, and licking its lips it spoke again. "What a prize this is…A mother and her hatchling…" It chuckled as it neared the hatchling, its eyes narrow and a devilish grin on its face. "Tell me, little one, are you afraid?" The Alimon chuckled as it brought up a paw close to the hatchling, ready to sink its claws into him, to savor the moment. "Are you afraid of little ol' Axel?"_

_That name…Axel…_

_Suddenly a sound was heard. And before they knew it another Dracovol roared in anger as it charged into the attackers, striking the others away and going for the attack on the murdering Alimon. It struck the Alimon away from its hatchling and the defending Dracovol was down on all four, towering over and protecting its son, a dangerous growl and glare at the invaders; the father, now home after his look out from outside, ready to defend his family. His eyes were set on his limp mate, and he knew he was too late._

"_What…What have you done!?" The male Dracovol growled at his attackers, his voice almost gone from seeing his dead mate._

_The Alimon responsible for the death of his mate only chuckled. It was salivating, to see another Dracovol in the premises. Perfect, it thought, all the more fun. Before anything else could be done, a loud roar was heard from the outside. The Alimons knew what that meant, and one by one they retreated._

_However, that one Alimon debated whether or not to go. But in the end the Alimon retreated just the same, but not before leaving one final word. "Heheheh…Mark my words, we will meet again…A hunter never forgets the prey it never hunted…"_

_And they all left. Only sadness and grief remained in the cavern. The hatchling fumbled his way to his dead mother, nuzzling and nudging her muzzle and body. But no response, she was dead. The hatchling persisted, still innocent from the concept of death._

_The male Dracovol grieved as well, for his own incompetence to protect his mate. He huddled his little hatchling close and searched the area for the second egg his mate left behind, but to no avail. No matter where he looked, the desperate Dracovol couldn't find the egg anywhere. His heart heavy with grief and torn in two, he could only do what he could do._

_And so, the lone Dracovol left the valley, to return to Crescent Valley with nothing but his young offspring, his only son…_

-------

A single tear ran down Zarek's cheek. He misses his mate, how his life together with her came to an abrupt end because of those retched Alimons, that event that scarred Vlad and to imprint the name "Axel" on his mind forever. As for the detail about the second egg, Zarek never bothered to let Vlad know about it. It was presumably lost in the struggle between his mate and the Alimons, he couldn't find it anywhere. Besides, Vlad has no recollection of another egg, his lost brother or sister, and it wouldn't do any good telling him now.

Zarek looked at his son as he cups his son's chin in his paw, lifting his head up to look at him. "If anything were to happen to you…I don't know what I would do…You mean the world to me, the only remaining thing from your mother…"

Vlad sniffs as he rubs the tears away from his face, trying to be brave in front of his father. "I miss her so much…"

Zarek held his son close in his arm, nodding to himself as another tear runs down his cheek. "I know you do, I miss her too…"

-------

After a good night's rest, the group of adventurers was back on track, on their way to Crescent Valley. They spent a whole day getting through the region of Three Horn Peak and almost got burned in the Volcanic Region, but from the look of things it's going to be smooth sailing from here on out. All they can see up ahead is nothing but green plains. Donovan said something about a desert, didn't he? Maybe it was after they crossed this plain.

Rex was excited. It shouldn't take long to get to Crescent Valley. Finally, he'd find the home of his kind, see them all in packs and how they live and react. His dream come true, he just couldn't wait!

"You sure look excited." Chomper commented as he stood next to Rex, who at the moment is standing still in the middle of this plain and just spacing out toward the distance.

"Hehe, wouldn't you?" Rex replies with a smile. "Just imagine, after all this time searching high and low, I'm finally getting closer to the truth. I know now what I am, but not who I am." Rex bowed his head a bit, kicking the dirt a bit as he contemplates what he will find in Crescent Valley. "I lived all my life in the Great Valley, but what could my life have been if I never gotten lost? I mean, I came from a Dracovol family, didn't I? How would my life be like if I grew up with them instead of in the Great Valley?"

"Sounds deep." Chomper replies as he scratches his head. "I never thought of that. I mean, if you wouldn't have grown up in the Great Valley and had that adventure, we wouldn't have met."

Rex nods in agreement. "It all sounds scary in a way. I mean, I could come into Crescent Valley, but depending on what I find there I won't ever be the same." He lowers his head a bit, his mind heavy with thoughts of what ifs. "In a way I'm excited, but on the other paw, I'm terrified of what I will find and how it'll change me…"

Chomper frowns and tilts his head at his friend, kind of reading his mind. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Rex looks at Chomper and shakes his head. "N-No, of course not. It's just…Well…"

"Hehe, you sound worried about nothing!"

Rex and Chomper turn around to come face to face with Yu. The Fast Biter heard the whole thing and couldn't stand seeing his friend so worried about what could be. "I'm not going to say I know how you feel, because I've never went through what you're going through. But hey, just because you're going to Crescent Valley and probably discover a whole new life you never knew you had, it doesn't mean things have to change. We'll still be your friends and you will always be welcomed here with us."

Rex smiles faintly. "Yu…"

Yu continued with a smile. "So what if you were meant to live in Crescent Valley? Your home will always be the Great Valley with your friends. No matter who you are or where you are, they'll never forget you or stop loving you. As long as you think of them and remember them, you'll always be you, no matter if your real name was Claw, Biter, or even Wingy."

Rex and Chomper couldn't help but laugh at the names Yu gave off as an example. Where does he come up with this stuff? But he's right though, no matter where he's destined to be, or who he was, one thing will never change: His friendship with those he love in the Great Valley and in the Mysterious Beyond. They saw another example yesterday between Silence and Dice. They were of different species and didn't seem like they were meant for each other, but look at them now, they couldn't be any happier being together, and in love for that matter. And Rex wouldn't give up his home at the Great Valley for the world, and that won't change.

"You know what? You're right!" Rex finally comments after he stopped laughing. "Even if my real home is Crescent Valley, I was born and raised in the Great Valley, and that will always be my home."

"Of course it is!" Chomper adds with a smile. "And even if you're someone else entirely, you'll always be Rex to me, to Yu, to everyone. I don't care if we do find your real family and they say otherwise!"

Rex giggles and smiles at Chomper and Yu. "Chomper, Yu, thank you. I couldn't ask for better friends."

"Hey, you three!"

Rex, Chomper and Yu turn their heads to spot Tanner coming back at them with Terrel by his side. The Alimon was rather annoyed that the three of them stopped to talk without even giving them any warning. "I know it's always fun and all to talk between friends about stuff, but we got a little sidetracked yesterday and we're a little behind. So please, move your tails! The sooner we get to Crescent Valley the better, especially now that we have a young raplet with us."

Terrel blinked and looked up at Tanner with a glare. "Hey!"

"Oh, right." Rex looked at both Chomper and Yu. "We better get going. Like Tanner said, the sooner we get to Crescent Valley the better."

They both nod and resume their journey. The path was easy on their paws at least, a nice change from the region yesterday. All rocky and rough, it was nice to walk on soft grass underneath their paws and just having a good walk in the soft breeze and under the blue sky. Yup, it seems like it'll be a beautiful day. In fact, something crept into Rex's heart, and out of his mouth in a song…

"_Answer must be somewhere_

_Searching the world_

_For the answers we're looking for_

_You can believe that_

_As we search the world…"_

They continue their travels through a flower-ridden area of the plains, all the meanwhile Rex, Chomper and Yu remain upbeat to the beat they have going, their heads sort of bobbing to the beat as Rex continues.

"_You and I brave the world,"_

"_Through the night, the rain, the wind and the sun."_

"_Searching for that path we should take_

_Through the grass, the sand, the wave and the snow"_

Chomper hums the song until this point, where he has his turn to sing.

"_But the world can be such a huge and vast place"_

"_Where to find the place to call our home?"_

Yu adds in as he takes his turn to sing.

"_It doesn't matter where we will go"_

"_Just as long you're here with me today"_

Rex, Chomper and Yu sing the following together as Rex jumps on top of a boulder, looks up and lifts his paw up to the sky.

"_That plaaace that we call our home"_

"_Is just a dream today?"_

Rex then continues the following by himself as he slowly lowers his paw and clutches it into a fist.

"_Just reach out with your dreams and your hopes"_

"_And the answers you want will come to you"_

The trio continues with the song as they follow in their footsteps toward their adventure.

"_Another day tomorrow"_

"_Is to try to find the answers that elude us"_

"_But to find our answers"_

"_It just takes a little step at a time"_

"_Answer must be somewhere"_

"_Searching the world"_

"_For the answers we're looking for"_

"_You can believe that"_

"_As we search the world"_

As the trio finished their song they couldn't help but laugh and fall down to the grassy ground, giggling and laughing from the silliness of randomly breaking into a song just out of nowhere like that. Terrel couldn't help but giggle at the randomness of it all, and if he was a good singer he would've joined in as well.

Tanner on the other hand just couldn't grasp such a concept and stopped in his tracks, looking over his shoulder before slowly turning around and walking back to the laughing trio. "Was that really necessary?"

Rex giggled as he rolled over onto his stomach and looked up at Tanner. "It's just in good fun, Tanner. Nothing makes the time pass faster than singing a song when you're traveling!"

Tanner rolled his eyes and started to turn around to continue. "Well, if you're going to sing a song, at least have the lyrics make a bit more sense. The tune is fine, but the words leave something to be desired."

Rex gave Tanner a bit of a glare as the Alimon continued forth. He didn't hear him contribute to the song, but perhaps Tanner is not a good singer or creative enough to come up with the words. Oh well. The three got up to their feet to continue along; they still had a lot of road to cover today.

"Well, I liked the song." Terrel gave his opinion to break the momentary silence that swept over them.

The travel through the plains was rather peaceful, not one Sharptooth or any other dinosaurs were seen around here. It almost made it seem like they had the whole world to themselves. It was rather nice to be so free of worry, but also it was a little unnerving to be the only ones there. The group managed to keep themselves from getting bored by bringing up some topics here and there, nothing too interesting to take note of.

Before they knew it the Bright Circle was over them, and the day began getting even hotter. After what felt like a very long time of walking the group finally stops for a moments rest and to get their bearings. They've been walking for a good while and haven't seen any hints or anything about a desert. Perhaps they went around it all this time? Donovan said it was before a huge field of green food, and they are traveling across a plain full of grass. Rex could only hope that they didn't get lost.

"Hm, are we going the right way?" Rex inquires, a bit worried.

Yu sighs as he lies down. "Yeah…We haven't seen any sign about a desert. Didn't Donovan say we would have to cross one sooner or later?"

Tanner didn't pay too much attention though, he continued forward until he had to climb up a small hill and jump on top of a boulder, better height for scanning the area. He had to admit he doesn't know the way exactly like he should to avoid getting lost, but he's sure they're going the right way.

He scanned the distance to see what he can see. More and more green with some…Mountains in the distance to his right, and nothing to the left. That nothingness is probably where the desert is, and their next destination. "Well, the desert is this way, that's for sure."

"Great…" Chomper groans as he bows his head down, his tongue hanging out. "First the flowing fires yesterday, now the desert. It's like the heat is following me trying to kill me…"

"I know…" Terrel chimes in as he's lying down next to Yu, trying to hide in his shadow to cool off.

Tanner shook his head as he looked over his shoulder. "There's no use whining, boys. Besides, I thought you were all tougher than that, unless you want to turn back with your tails between your legs."

Rex shook his head. "No way, I'm not turning back now. I'm going all the way until the end."

Yu stands up and puts on a brave face. "If Rex is going, then I'm going too."

"No way am I going back like a scared Sharptooth!" Chomper chimes in.

Terrel jumps up and nudges Yu's leg. "Then if you're going, I'm going too! No way are you going to send me away now!"

Yu groans and rolls his eyes. Even if he wanted to send him back, they're too far away from their pack now to do so. Like it or not, Terrel is here to stay with them. Tanner gave a smirk as he shook his head, expecting those responses. "Fair enough, let us continue on then."

With a nod from all of them the group head out. Tanner leaps off of the hill to continue ahead, but something unexpected happened next.

"Aagh!!"

Rex stopped and blinked in surprise. "Tanner?" The four Sharpteeth look at each other before running up the hill, stopping in their tracks to see Tanner surrounded by four Fast Biters! Oh great, just what they need. Can't they ever have a moment's rest?!

"Tanner!" Rex cries as he runs down the hill to help Tanner with Chomper hot in pursuit.

"Find a place to hide, Terrel!" Yu commanded to his little cousin before following the others. Terrel couldn't do anything else but to comply and find a place to hide within the many boulders on this hill.

"Great…" Tanner growls as he eyes the Fast Biters. How did he not see them and let them ambush him? He must be getting rusty. An Assassin of the Rock Rangers, ambushed this easily. There's something for the others back home to laugh about. Doesn't matter though, these Fast Biters are going to be dead soon, all he needs is to find which one of these is the weakest and work his way from there. Suddenly his senses caught something…

"Eh?!" Tanner looked over his shoulder to see, to his horror, the others approaching to help him. "No, don't!"

But it was too late. Before they knew it they were stopping dead in their tracks as more Fast Biters leaped out from their hiding spots and surround the group. Great, now they're caught too. They should've known it was too good to be true about having this entire field all to themselves. "Agh, more of them!" Rex points out the blindingly obvious.

The trio stands together back to back as their eyes watch their ambushers, none of them making a move. Fast Biters can be pretty fast and sneaky, the last thing they want is to agitate them and spring out at them when they least expect it. To be caught like this, it had to be a trap. These Fast Biters knew they were coming this way and waited for them. But who would know of them and catch them off guard like this?

That didn't matter though. They would have to fight their way out.

"Hmhm, now that was a bit too easy." Someone chuckled. "I was expecting something more from Judah's son."

Yu couldn't help but gulp. Whoever is talking it sure knows him. The group witnessed as the Fast Biters backed off, and from behind them one Fast Biter in particular stepped forward. This Fast Biter was black with some brown stripes along his backside, his eyes a pair of aqua. He was a bit on the young side, not much older than Yu. He looked rather gentle despite the ugly glare he's giving off. Needless to say though, he means business if he was the one responsible for this ambush.

"W-Who are you?" Yu questions with a bit of a stammer. "And…How do you know my name?"

"You don't know me?" The Fast Biter replied, he then shook his head and continued. "I'm not surprised; I was never in the Lines of the Sodom Pack."

The Lines…The Lines is a concept of organization most Fast Biters apply to their packs. The Frontier Lines, the first line of defense and attack; the Middle Lines, the backup for the Frontier Lines; and the Backer Lines, the pack's last line of defense. Those assigned to these Lines are the ones who are ordered to attack and defend the pack; those who are not part of it are usually behind the Backer Lines either in hiding or protecting others who cannot fight. It's worthy to be reminded of that just not too long ago Rex and Yu were assigned as part of the Frontier Lines by Judah, Yu's father.

"The Sodom Pack?" Rex echoes with a hint of fear in his voice. "You're from the Sodom Pack?"

Also worthy of reminder, the Sodom Pack is a pack of Fast Biters who are in a constant feud with Yu's Pack, the Toviel. Ever since their battle about a year ago they've been on constant fights whenever one meets the other. They've been fighting each other for so long they don't even bother to remember if it's for territory they're fighting for, or if it's a personal vendetta between the two.

"My name is Runner," The Fast Biter, Runner, introduces himself. "And I hope you take some effort to remember me, because we're going to see more of each other from now on."

Chomper arches an eyebrow and scratches his head. "W-Why? Did you just get promoted to the Lines?"

"You could say that." Runner simply chuckled. "You're looking at the new leader of the pack. And I'm afraid I have unfinished business with you four, especially Yu."

Yu reacted in surprise upon what he just heard. "The new leader?! What happened to the last one the pack had?!"

"Yeah! And what do you mean by having unfinished business with us?" Rex added, in shock as well. The last time they saw each other, the leader of the Sodom Pack, whom they are unaware as Zill and Bull's father, was alive and in perfect health.

Runner just shook his head with a mild chuckle. "He unfortunately had to retire early. But don't worry; I'm more than capable of filling his place." He then started to back off, letting the Fast Biters again to surround the group, preventing an escape. "As for our unfinished business, I believe you three destroyed something precious of mine a long time ago. And I aim to make you three pay what you took from me with your lives!"

Rex, Chomper and Yu didn't know what he was talking about, but they didn't have time to ponder such questions, for the Fast Biters snarled and jumped for the attack!

One Fast Biter leaped in to attack the three, but Tanner jumped in and tackled the Fast Biter right out of the sky. He managed to push the other Fast Biters out of the way and jumped for the safe, stunning the others for a moment. "Tanner!" Rex exclaims.

"We should run!" Tanner shouts back at them as he pins the Fast Biter down. "There's too many of them!"

A Fast Biter tries to attack Tanner but Chomper rushed in and tackled it down to the ground, turning around and growling at the others. "He's right. We can't take all of them at once!"

Rex and Yu turn to the other approaching Fast Biters as they back off. They're right; Runner was going for overkill here. Tanner managed to get by four Fast Biters, and they themselves were surrounded by four, two of them of which were taken care of by Tanner and Yu, for a total of eight opponents and who knows if there are more in backup. No doubt about it, they'd be killed within minutes.

One Fast Biter lunged to bite them, but Rex dodged the bite and with his claws slashed the attacker across the face, knocking it down to the ground with a bleeding face. "Darn it, we've been trumped!" With no other option left, the group turned and made a break for it. Sometimes it's better to run and live to fight another day.

"Terrel!" Yu cried as they make a break for it. "Come on! We're leaving!"

Runner, who was watching from behind his followers, just shook his head. "What cowards." He looked at his followers and cried out his command. "After them!" The Fast Biters screeched and obeyed their leader's command, chasing after the group.

Rex, Chomper, Yu, Terrel and Tanner were running as fast as their feet could carry them. Now they wished they weren't in the plains were there was no hiding spot in sight. And with how flat the ground was, they could be seen from miles. Their only hope would be if fog moved in, but then again that would make them lose each other as well.

And that Fast Biter, Runner, what did he meant by them destroying something precious of his? They never met the guy before let alone know him to destroy what he values most. What did he meant? Was someone he held dear killed in one of their encounters?

"Hahh…Hahh…" Rex gasps as he continues running from their pursuers, his heart beating rapidly against his chest. The thought about being ripped apart by Fast Biters wasn't appealing at all! "Where are we supposed to go?! It's a death wish staying here!"

"Huhh…Huhh…The desert!" Yu replies as he takes the lead alongside Tanner, constantly glancing down to make sure Terrel is keeping up. "If we head there, the heat could probably chase those Fast Biters away!"

Tanner shakes his head furiously. "Are you crazy?! We'll burn out under the Bright Circle before they call off the chase!"

Chomper gasps and heaves as he tries to keep up. "Well…Huhh…Do you…Hahh…have any better ideas?!"

Tanner scans the area, his eyes once again taking note of the mountains present in the distance. He would hate to get off course, but their lives are on the line. They couldn't risk it. "The mountains!" He shouts to the others. "It's a stretch, but we could lose them there!"

"Are you crazy?!" Yu spits out. "There's no way we're going to lose them there!"

"You got any better ideas?!"

They didn't have any choice. At least in the mountains they could find some caverns or something to hide from the Fast Biters. One thing to worry about is that Fast Biters can be pretty good at scaling upward, so it's anybody's guess how they will fare in a mountain setting when they have about eight Fast Biters chasing them. At the moment they would try anything to get away.

As they reach the mountains they climb up the boulders lying by the bottom. Rex uses his wings to scale up faster while Tanner and Yu (grabbing Terrel in his mouth) climb up from boulder to boulder with their dexterity and speed. Chomper on the other hand had some slight problem keeping up, he wasn't good at climbing like the others, a disadvantage he despises especially in these situations.

Rex looked back down and saw Chomper falling behind. Not one to leave anybody behind Rex climbed back down to help Chomper. They managed to get ahead of the chasing pack, but they were catching up. At this rate they'll start climbing and get to them soon. They had to hide.

"Hurry, Chomper!" Rex pleaded as he allowed Chomper to climb up first to speed him up.

"I'm trying! You try being a Sharptooth who's not exactly known for climbing!"

Tanner made it a fair way up and stopped to gasp for breath. He made it up to a path on the mountain. This path leads to the east side of the mountains, perfect to get moving, but what if it ends in a dead end? Heck, he's positive it leads to nowhere and just to more rocks. They can't afford wasting any more time climbing; they'd be wasting energy and stamina.

Yu managed to catch up to Tanner and dropped Terrel to the ground to catch his breath. "Hahh…Hahh…What now, Tanner?"

"I'm working on it…"

Terrel looked down by the edge of the platform at Rex and Chomper, gasping as he saw the pack already catching up and climbing up to catch them. "Hurry up! The Fast Biters are coming!"

Chomper grunts as he claws at a boulder to climb up, but he manages with a gentle push from Rex. "Huhh…We're trying!"

Down below the Fast Biters have caught up and are now slowly climbing up to catch them. Runner just watched and gave a little hiss. "Typical. Always running and you call yourself hunters!?"

The insult was loud enough for the others to hear. Rex looked down at Runner and shot off a glare at him. He calls them cowards for running; he's one to talk, sending eight Fast Biters to do the killing for him. He doesn't care if Runner's the leader of the Sodom pack now, it doesn't give him the right to make others do the dirty work. That's basically hiding behind your followers and make them do the work, that's a coward right there.

"Run all you'd like, it won't change a thing." Runner continues as he looks up at the fleeing group. "In fact, it makes it all the more sweeter when I finally catch you!"

"Why!" Rex shouts back at Runner. "Why do you hate us so much!? What did we ever do to you!?"

Runner shoots of a nasty glare toward Rex's direction as he begins to growl. "You…You should know, Sharptooth…I've heard much about you from my older brother so many Bright Circles ago…"

"Your…Brother?" Rex couldn't make any sense of what he's saying. Brother? He has a brother? How would his brother know about him? Rex has never communicated with anyone from the Sodom Pack. Unless…

"Yes, my brother. The one you and your stupid friends killed a long time ago…Bull!"

Rex jumped so high that he almost fell off of the mountain, the mere mention of the name almost giving him a heart attack. "Bull!?"

"No way…!" Yu was as shocked as Rex was.

"That's right!" Runner continued with hatred in his voice. "Because of you and your stupid friends my older brother is gone! And not only did you take him away from me, but also his brother! _My_ brother too!!"

"That can't be!" Rex just couldn't believe it. Zill and Bull had a third brother!? Runner is the third son of the leader of the Sodom Pack!? Now it's all making sense now. His hatred toward them, the sole reason he wants them dead. Just like his father. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, after all.

"You killed my brothers! Make my pack look like fools! You even added insult to injury by killing them for protecting Leaf Eaters!" Runner continued, his voice increasing ever so. "Protecting _stupid_ Leaf Eaters! What kind of stupid act is that!? What kind of Sharptooth are you!?"

Rex didn't bother to reply, he didn't know the answer well himself. He grew up with them, what else was he supposed to do? He loved them. He's not going to let them get killed by others on his watch. Sure, it may sound unnatural for the predator to protect the prey, but…But…Oh how can he explain that to an angry Fast Biter bent on revenge!?

"I…I…" Rex stammered for a good answer as he continued climbing up, his eyes still glued to Runner.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it!" Runner spat with a ferocious growl. "I'm sick of you! Of your friends! Of your stupid pack! I took this position from my father for one purpose only! To regain the honor of my pack and avenge my brothers!"

Tanner snarled and shook his head. "Allow your mind to be clouded by anger and revenge and you will suffer a pitiful fate much like your brother, Bull!"

"Enough! Kill them!!"

The Fast Biters roared out and began a furious ascend up the mountain. Rex screamed and used his wings to fly up to the ledge the others were at. With no time to waste they continued their mad dash for survival, anything and anyplace they could go to get away. And this path was their only exit.

One Fast Biter managed to catch up to the ledge and charge after them. Rex, who was at the back of the group, looks over his shoulder and gasps upon seeing the incoming Fast Biter. He skids to a stop and turns to the Fast Biter, growling at it. The Fast Biter jumps at Rex, who jumps to the side and shoulder tackles the Fast Biter, pushing it over the ledge and dropping it to its apparent death. He watches and winces as the body hits and bounces against the boulders, that must've hurt…

But as soon as that danger is averted another roar prompts Rex to look back and run away. Two more Fast Biters caught up and began the chase.

The Fast Biters chased the group of adventurers; they were salivating at the thought of catching them and devouring their flesh. They could taste their blood already, and they couldn't wait to grab and feast on them. Upon turning a corner they reach a circular clearing within the mountain range, but to their horror they cannot see the Sharpteeth they were chasing. Gone…Into thin air! How is that even possible!? There weren't any other way they could've gone other than jumping off the ledge and to their death. Their other five comrades arrive at the clearing too, they too confused over the sudden disappearance of the group. They couldn't understand it, where could they have gone!?

Runner, who was climbing up after them as well (being the Fast Biter that he is, he couldn't pass up the chance to see these guys die a horrible death), shoved through them and looked around the place. His eyes narrowed and his growl got louder. They're gone! But to where!? He looked to his left, nowhere to go. He looked to his right, a small cavern, probably big enough for them to gotten into.

He growled and looked to one of his followers. "You! Go and check!"

The Fast Biter snarled and made its way to the cavern opening, poked his head in and sniffed the air, purring gently while doing so. The Sharptooth couldn't see anything inside, just a bunch of stalagmites and rocks. The Fast Biter looked down upon hearing a small squeak, and caught the sight of a mouse with whiskers, its fur tan and smooth. The Fast Biter snarled and lunged forward, catching the innocent victim within its jaws and gulping it down with one chomp before turning to its leader. Not a good substitute for looking those other much appetizing victims.

"Nothing!?" Runner was displeased. They couldn't have gotten far then. He looked forward to the other possible path and snarled. "Find them!"

The pack didn't have any other choice. They continued down the only available path they could've gone. There's no way they were stupid enough to enter a dark cavern such as that one, visibility would've been almost zero and then they would be risking getting lost in there and never see the light of day again.

Little do they know though, sometimes the stupid choice could turn out to be the best choice.

Deep in said cavern we will find our group of adventurers hiding behind stalagmite and within the darkness, their chest heaving as slow as possible to avoid making any sounds, each of them paralyzed with fear. Luckily, no one came after them, they were safe for now.

"Are they gone…?" Yu asks as he hides behind a stalagmite with Terrel right next to him.

Tanner listens closely for any sound. He then slowly emerges from his hiding spot with his eyes set on the entrance. "I believe so…"

Chomper sighs in relief as he slumps down against the cavern wall. "Phew…That's a relief…I don't know if I could've run any further…"

Rex slowly emerged from his hiding spot as well, his eyes glued to the cavern's entrance. "That Runner guy…Is he actually Bull and Zill's brother?"

Chomper turns his head to Rex and absently nods. "I guess so…I mean, doesn't he have the same color as Zill?"

"That really doesn't matter at this point." Tanner points out with a light snarl as he moves away from his hiding spot, looking at the cavern exit and deeper into the cave to ponder what to do next. "We got a pack of Fast Biters on our tails and we're stuck in this cavern. Darn it! Just once I would like to do something without being sidetracked like this!"

Rex sighs as he leans against the stalagmite, slowly slumping down on a sitting position. This is all wrong, why can't they do anything without something trying to kill them? He knows every day in the Mysterious Beyond is a struggle for survival, but this is too much. First the Darkarians, then a big Sharptooth, the stupid flowing fire, now this. The whole world is trying to keep them from getting to Crescent Valley.

"Are we ever gonna reach Crescent Valley…?" Rex mumbled to himself.

Tanner growled in frustration and shook his head. "With those Fast Biters out there, we can't risk going out the other way."

Yu hummed to himself, trying to think of a way to get out of here and keep going. They could try to sneak their way out from where they came from, but there are eight Fast Biters out there searching for them. If they're caught, they're finished. What to do…

"Hey." The group turned their heads to Terrel, who was looking in deeper into the cave and wondering. "Maybe this cave leads to another way out of here? Probably one away from the Fast Biters?"

Tanner wandered a bit deeper into the cave and sniffed the air. Alimons have a very strong sense of smell, if Tanner could smell something that could imply an exit through this cave; it could be their ticket out of here safely. "You might be onto something, kid."

"Heheh, yay!" Terrel jumped and cheered happily. He got a sudden sense of pride that he helped out on finding a way to escape.

"What? You mean go deeper down there?" Chomper shuddered and backed away; he wasn't fond of the idea of going into deeper darkness and potentially lose their way.

Rex nodded and stood up, a determined look on his face. "Worth a shot."

Chomper watched in dismay as the group begins to go deeper into the cave. No no no, after that last experience in the darkness in the rapid waters, the last thing he wants is to go back into darkness and have it happen again! He almost drowned back there! He would rather prefer staying near the exit where there's light, thank you very much.

"Oh dear…" Chomper whimpered. He then heard a roar from outside (presumably from the Fast Biters), made him jump in fear and prompted him to run into the cavern and rush after the others. "Wait for meeeeee!"

-------

A mysterious black creature who can stand on his hind legs sits on the brown ground with his back resting against the mountain wall. His eyes are closed as if he's taking a nap, but there's no time for a nap right now. For even now he's sitting on dangerous ground. He's lucky he's managed to get this far without being killed. His feathers are droopier than usual, most of them drooping forward and over his eyes, covering most of them. It's interesting to note that he has a scar on his nose as well.

"Heheh, you'd never guess who I just found right outside." A young voice giggled out to the sitting dinosaur.

The dinosaur slowly opens his eyes and turns his head to the right, seeing another creature similar to him walking toward him; black skin and a scar over his right eye. He looks very young but strong for his age. His feathers do not droop like his comrade's; they're more erect with some slight drooping.

"It's our old blue friend." The young one reports with a childish grin. "You know the one."

The older creature just closes his eyes and returns his head to its previous position. "I am aware of who he is, Pascal. I am not an idiot."

Pascal frowns and folds his arms, turning his shoulder to the creature with a grudge. "Well excuuuse me, Tamal. Just trying to be friendly, no need to be so mean." He turns back to Tamal with a slight grin. "Though the actual question is, what is he doing all the way over here?"

"That's a good question." Tamal replies with a nod. "If they're here, then they're putting themselves in a very serious and dangerous position."

"You want me to go ask them?" Pascal adds with a grin.

Tamal just shook his head. "Are you serious? Blow our cover and it could put up in a very tight spot. We're already disobeying Druce's order by staying here longer than we should."

Pascal just giggles and walks closer to Tamal, playfully poking his clawed finger to Tamal's nose. "I'm not an idiot, Tamal. Even I know not to do that. As long as he's not in any danger, that is."

Tamal just looks at Pascal with an uninterested look and nips Pascal's finger away from his face. "You better know your role in this, Pascal. Remember how you almost blew our cover a couple of Bright Circles ago. We nearly lost the trust of them."

Pascal groans as he throws his arms up in dismay. "Ugh, don't remind me. Just one little slip and look at what happened."

"And you also remember what we had to do to get their trust back."

"Oh, definitely! Rip out the wings of that poor Dracovol and then slash his neck open! You amaze me, Tamal. Doing all of that to an innocent dinosaur. Heck, even I couldn't keep a straight face!"

"Heh." Tamal didn't put any other comment. He couldn't forget that moment either even if he tried. Pascal, with his usual happy-go-lucky nature and joker of a personality, tried to surprise Tamal with a joke. Little did he know that Tamal wasn't alone, and it nearly ousted them as spies. It took them a lot of work to get their trust back, and how did they managed that?

A test of trust basically. They had a Dracovol prisoner who once tried to go against them. He was to be punished by ripping his wings off. Pascal was nearly disgusted by the fact, but Tamal kept a straight face. It had to be convincing.

Despite the agony of ripping its wings the Dracovol still protested. They then forced Tamal to silence him permanently. With a good, clean cut of its throat. That Dracovol won't be fighting back anymore.

"And you know how I feel about that…" Pascal adds seriously before gulping. It brought back some bad memories.

"You're not the only one." Tamal adds as well. "But that aside, the problem is this: What are we going to do about our little friend? He can't stay here."

"Are you suggesting what I'm thinking you're suggesting?" Pascal grinned from ear to ear as he saw a smirk forming on Tamal's face. He knows what he's suggesting, all right. "Well, in that case, I'll be on my way then." With that he turned around and went on his way.

"Don't go too far." Tamal warned with a snarl. "If you break him…"

Pascal turns, slightly offended. "I'm not gonna kill him!" He snarled. "Just enough to give him the message that he's not welcome here. Besides, if he doesn't listen then he'll have to go through worse things. Believe me, he doesn't want to be here."

Tamal arose from his sitting position and scratched his chest. "And we don't want him here either." He turned his head to his young companion and gave him a nod. "I'll try to keep them busy to give you some time to send him away. Usual time limit."

Pascal nodded with a giggle. "All right, that should give me enough time. You be careful out there."

Tamal chuckled as he fingered his head feathers. "Touching, but I don't need it."

And with that the two companions part ways. What could they be up to to be in this place? Who are they spying on? Nobody knows but them and a selected few. Are they intentions righteous? Or are they aligned with darkness? A puzzle, indeed. And they are not talking. What could they possibly be doing to justify the murder of an innocent Dracovol? These creatures work in strange and barbaric ways. When all is said and done, it's everyone's hopes that what they are doing are for the right thing.

-------

"Finally! Liiiiight!!" Chomper was more than happy to be out of that cavern. He ran immediately to the middle of the area just outside of the cave to bathe in the sunlight. Terrel was more than happy to join him in the happy hops and running around in the sunshine.

Tanner just smirked at the picture. "Hehe, look at them go. As if they've never seen sunlight before."

Rex sighs and sags his head down. "Can you blame them? That cave was scary and creepy, a lot of those rocks looked like Sharptooth's teeth…"

"It wasn't that bad." Yu comments with a giggle, but it soon stopped and he frowned as he thought back to their trip through that cave. "Although I could've lived without stubbing my toes with pebbles and rocks. Man, those hurt…"

Rex chuckled, he knows that feeling. All in all it wasn't so bad; at least it was better than being chased by Runner and his pack. He still couldn't believe that Runner is the third son of the Sodom pack's leader, the third brother of Zill and Bull. He couldn't help but feel guilt knowing that he was the one that killed them both, took them away from him like Runner said. Rex frowned and sighed heavily. "It was my fault…"

Yu looked over at Rex with a confused expression. "Your fault? What is?"

"Everything." Rex began as he looked at Yu. "If I didn't killed Bull and Zill, we wouldn't have been chased all over the place by Runner and his pack. Your pack wouldn't have to constantly fight with the Sodom pack every time they've met." He sighed and rubbed his left arm with his right paw. "Let's face it, I'm always bringing you nothing but trouble since the day we've met."

Yu shook his head, unable to accept this. "Don't say those things…Yeah, I know things would've been a lot of easier if Zill and Bull wouldn't have gone into your life. And maybe things would've been a lot easier like you said. But for what it's worth, I think it was a good thing that Bull and Zill meddled in your life."

Rex blinked in shock and looked at Yu, his mouth slightly gapping. Did he just hear right? "W-What…?"

Yu nods in happiness. "Yeah! I mean, think about it. If Bull and Zill hadn't done what they have done, you and I would have never met. We wouldn't have gone on all these great adventures, you wouldn't have met Chomper. And, most importantly, you wouldn't have never have discovered about your kind!"

Rex's shock slowly was replaced with a slight smile. "Yu…"

"You can't just look at things for the bad stuffs they make happen. You gotta look at the positive side of things. Otherwise, well, life just gets too depressing. I mean, I used to remember how I always lashed out at things on impulse. I always thought that would never let me have friends. But then you came along, you helped me get over that and now look at us! Couldn't be any happier!"

Rex took a moment to think about what Yu told him. Yeah, there's always a negative side to things, but if we stop to focus on them all the time, the good things in life just disappears and we end up in an endless loop of stress and depression. But if we stop focusing on them and turn to the positive side of things, we may not only find the happiness we're looking for, but it also makes the dark situation a little bit brighter and more bearable to live through.

Sure, Rex could wish that his meeting with Bull and Zill would have never happened, but then he would be sacrificing all the good things he's received from that encounter. He couldn't let all of that go…

In the end Rex gave off his familiar smile and gave a happy nod. "You're right, Yu. I can't stick to the negative side of things. I gotta start thinking on the good things and act on them, can't change the past. And even if I could, I don't think I could give all of this away."

"Haha, there you go!"

Rex kept smiling at his best friend. "Thanks, Yu. I really needed that."

Before the two friends could exchange any more words Terrel's scream broke the two out of their conversation. Turning their heads they witness Terrel running toward them and hiding behind Yu's leg, looking very petrified.

"Guys…" Tanner calls out to them.

Rex and Yu lift their heads and gasps. Chomper is slowly backing away as Tanner stands his ground, growling at the intruder standing before them. The intruder is a black Dracovol with red stripes along its backside and a nasty-looking scar over his right eye. Rex was sort of shocked to see another Dracovol here, and this one of all Dracovols…

"Well, isn't this a welcome." The Dracovol jokes around with a giggle. "Being growled at by an Alimon and having a little kid running away from me." He then wags a finger at them. "That's not nice, you know."

"You…" Rex stammers. "I remember you…"

"Oh you do?" The Dracovol scratches his cheek, blushing a bit. So he does remember him. "And here I thought you wouldn't remember me."

"I remember you too." Yu responds, but he stops and thinks about it. "Let's see…You're…Oh!" He grins and looks at the Dracovol. Now he remembers. "You're one of the Shadow People!"

Pascal was about to say something, but he came up short completely, stunned by what Yu said. "I…I…Wuh…What?!"

Rex and Chomper gave a sigh with a shake of their heads. Shadow People, of all things. Yu just came up with that because they remember this Dracovol and his pack always used to disappear on them when they least expect them, back into the darkness of shadow, silently as they came. Rex remembers one of them used to do that to him about a year ago, when he helped him find where his friends were.

"No." Rex spat out to Yu before turning his head back to the Dracovol. "He's one of the members of the Arich Pack, remember? They helped us get Littlefoot and the others back home."

The Dracovol nods with a smile as he points at Rex. "Yes, he's right." He then points at Yu. "You're not." He giggles and flexes his claws a bit. "It's so nice to see you again, Rex. Tell me, what brings you all the way out here in the Mysterious Beyond and so far away from home?"

Rex was about to say, but stopped when he saw Tanner look at him with a stern look and shaking his head. Right, they're going to Crescent Valley and he's sure he can't tell anyone about it. It's supposed to be a secret mission of sorts, and they don't need any more distractions or people tagging along with them.

The Dracovol, noticing Rex isn't going to say, just shook his head. "Whatever, I don't need to know. It's your business." He then folded his arms and kept his gaze at Rex. "But really, you showing up here is a big no no. I don't know how you managed to get here, but you won't be getting as far as this."

Chomper tilted his head and stepped forward. "Why? Where is this place anyway?"

"It's nothing of your concern, that you can be sure of."

Rex stepped forward to try to reason with the Dracovol. "Listen, we don't want any trouble. We just want to go through here. We're being chased by a pack of Fast Biters and we just need to find a safe way out of here!"

"And what's wrong with the way you came here? You look just fine to me. So logic tells me that that's a safe way out."

"That's not an option!" Rex shouts, a bit of anger in his voice. "If we go back we run the risk of running into them again! And that's something we just can't risk!"

The Dracovol grins. "Not my problem."

Tanner growls in anger and steps forward with a loud stomp. "Listen, Dracovol! I am in no mood to listen to this bickering! Either you let us through or I'll _make_ you move!"

The Dracovol stares at Tanner and couldn't help but grin. "Really now? Is that a challenge?"

Tanner's eyes narrowed slightly more. "What do you think it is?"

The Dracovol just stayed quiet. How rich is this, an Alimon bringing on a challenge. He couldn't help but giggle as he turned his back to them and walked away a couple of steps. They just won't take a hint.

"Please…" Rex adds.

The Dracovol chuckled. "Fine by me." A long pause of silence was held for a moment. Nobody spoke or moved. A rather unneeded dramatic silence, but the Dracovol loved moments like this, keeping everyone one edge before throwing the punch line. Then, on cue as if to mimic a dramatic silence in a movie, the Dracovol suddenly turned with a playful growl, dropping on all four and glaring at Rex's general direction.

"How about this?" He began with a smirk. "If Rex beats me one on one, you fellows can pass. But, if he loses, it's back through the cave with you all!"

"W-What!?" Rex was stunned. A challenge? He has to fight him and win to be able to pass? What kind of game is this Dracovol playing?

"Well?" The Dracovol winked with a grin. "Sounds fair, doesn't it?"

Rex just started dumbfounded. He has to fight?

"Doesn't look like he's giving you much of a choice." Tanner commented with a scoff. "Fine. We play by your rules."

He has to fight?

"You can take him, Rex!" Terrel cheered.

…He has to fight?

"Be careful, Rex." Yu warned.

He has to fight!?

"If you have to…" Chomper comments.

He has to fight!

"…If I win, we pass?"

"Cross my heart!"

"…All right." Rex dropped on all four, similar to the Dracovol, and bared his teeth with a growl. "If I have to, then bring it on!"

-------

Song lyrics are original by me going to the tune of the opening song "Answer Must Be Somewhere" from Stream.

Hope you enjoyed this read!


	14. Behind Enemy Lines

A little author's note. From now on, the Alimon and Dracovol names will be changed to terms to fit more into the Land Before Time universe.

Alimons = Longneck Biters

Dracovols = Broadnose Flyers

* * *

The stage was set. There was no going back. Everything was as they were expected to be.

Now, only one thing remained to do.

The Broadnose Flyer smirked as he took a step forward, his stance down on all four as he stalked to his enemy.

The wager was this. If Rex could beat him on a one-on-one battle, he and his friends would win entry further into the mountains they found themselves in.

But if he were to lose, then it's back to where they came from. Back to Runner and his little merry group of hunters.

Rex gulped. To fight another member of his species just to pass. Of course, he's seen stranger things, but this clearly isn't the time to fight. But alas, he has no other choice but to bear with it.

The Broadnose Flyer grinned as he closed the gap between him and Rex, bearing his teeth and giving a little giggle, getting a kick from the situation he got them in. He lowered his head a bit and gave one piece of advice.

"Don't go dying on me, Rex."

Wait, this is to the death?

Before he knew it the Broadnose Flyer lunged for a bite. Rex leapt to the side, dodged the bite and retaliated with a slash, all but which struck nothing but air as his opponent gracefully jumped back and out of the way. They circled each other, a pair of concentrated eyes glaring at each other as they studied each of their movements, looking for that precious opening they needed to damage one another.

Broadnose Flyers weren't dumb; they were quick and agile on their feet. Like their Longneck Biter rivals, they could plan before leaping, study their opponents and lay out strategies out on their minds.

Unfortunately they both had almost nothing to go on here. Rex barely fought against any Broadnose Flyer, his opponent could say the same since the only Broadnose Flyers he ever hangs out with is the Arich Pack, and even they don't fight against each other.

Suddenly Rex's opponent snapped forward with a slash. The boy sidestepped to dodge it and retaliated with a tackle. He succeeded in connecting and knocked his opponent to the ground, now he's pinned and open. Rex went for a slash across the face, but his opponent quickly reached up and held back the attack with his paw. Quickly enough a second paw struck across Rex's face and knocked him down on his side.

Shaking the stun away Rex regains sight of his enemy and gasps as he lunges toward him. Going for the defense Rex turns on his back and lifts his feet, driving them into his opponent and pushing him off and over him.

The surprised Broadnose Flyer slams hard on the ground on his back, the wind knocked out of him. He growls a bit from the slam before rolling over and getting himself back up on all four.

"Heheh, not bad, Rex." The Broadnose Flyer commented after catching his breath.

They faced each other again for a few more mere seconds because they continued on their fight. Rex leaped for the attack while his opponent charged in to meet the attack head-on. All the while Yu, Chomper, Terrel and Tanner respected the Broadnose Flyer's wish for a one-on-one battle with Rex, watching the fight unfold from afar as to not meddle.

"This isn't right." Yu made his opinion known with a slight growl. "What are we even doing standing around for? If we stay here any longer Runner might find us."

"I'm with Yu." Chomper adds with a nod. "I mean, I know we agreed to his challenge, but in the trouble that we're in, we can't stay here. We need to keep moving."

Rather than argue with them Tanner simply planted his foot forward in front of the group, intending on keeping them from moving from their spot. Rex agreed to this, so they must keep their word. Longneck Biters are pretty serious to their words, and Tanner won't change his ways now.

While the others can only watch, Rex is engaged in a fight for the right to pass. The two Broadnose Flyers fought fiercely and aggressively. Rex tried not to fight as deadly as he could, for he didn't know just how serious his opponent would fight. But a few bruises and cuts later, Rex knew this was for real.

Rex lunged for a slash, but his opponent jumped back and, standing on his hind legs for better jumping, jumped back on top of a boulder. Keeping his eyes on him Rex stood up on his hind legs as well, starting a staring contest between them for a couple of seconds before they made the first move.

"You're not bad, bro." The Broadnose Flyer commented with a grin as he stood on top of the boulder. "You have an interesting way of fighting. A little bit of Fast Biter and Sharp Tooth in there with a mix of your own kind."

Rex snorted.

"Yeah? What of it? Are you going to say I'm not normal too?"

Rex could lose count of how many times he was called 'not normal' by other Sharpteeth during his year living in the Mysterious Beyond.

"Oh don't mistake anything with what I said, didn't mean anything bad by it."

"Right…" Rex growled.

"But enough about wasting time." The Broadnose Flyer suddenly leaped from the boulder and brandishing his claws, ready to land on to Rex for the brutal attack.

Rex braced himself as his opponent tackled him to the ground, locking grips with one another as they would struggle. A head butt from Rex saved him from a bite to his face, and then he managed to push his opponent off before rolling to his stomach and getting on all four. But his opponent was quick to recover, and before he knew it he was pouncing on Rex again, this time sinking his teeth into the back of his neck and sinking his claws into his shoulders.

"Aaah!" Rex cried as he felt the sting. He gritted his teeth as he tried to shake his opponent off of him, but he was holding on tight and couldn't get him off. With a pained cry Rex reached back with his paw and managed to scratch his opponent's snout with his claws. This managed to get him to yelp in pain and release his bite.

Still reaching back with his paw Rex grabbed his opponent's arm and pulled him over his shoulder and slammed him down to the ground on his back. Rex took this chance to step back and grimace at the scratches and wound he received, but he shook off the pain and jumped forward, slamming his front paws into his opponent's chest and pinning him down. The 'oof' that came from the pounce was loud enough to ensure the pain behind the slam.

"Aagh! Okay okay!" The Broadnose Flyer yelped as he grunted from the pressure being applied to his chest. He slowly opened one eye to look up at Rex, seeing the damage he caused to the lad. The bite to the back of his neck was enough to get some blood out, seeing it going down his shoulders to his chest. He was tired out, and he was rather impressed he lasted this long.

Rex panted as he kept his opponent pinned. He wasn't a pretty sight either. He had cuts on his forehead and shoulders and scrapes and bruises over his sides and arms. Granted Rex was more hurt than he is, but it seemed like he was more tired out than Rex.

"You give up?" Rex growled as he kept holding his opponent down.

"Yeah yeah, I give up." His opponent responded with a quick nod. "Now please, get off! I can't breathe!"

Rex eyed in suspiciously at first, but then decided to get off. The Broadnose Flyer rolled away from them and slowly stood up, grunting and rubbing his sore shoulders and limbs from the battle.

For Rex he's glad the fight was over, but for Tanner it felt like the supposed battle ended too soon. But hey, whatever shoves them to move faster through this.

"All right! You won!" Chomper cried happily as he ran up to Rex.

"I knew you could do it!" Yu commented with a smile.

Rex nodded.

"Haha, yeah."

While the group celebrated Rex's victory the other Broadnose Flyer backed off as he tended to his injuries and bruises.

"Phew…" The Broadnose Flyer sighed as he rubbed his sore limbs before lifting his head up to Rex. "Geez man, you didn't have to go that hard on me."

Rex blinked, looking rather insulted from the remark.

"Hey, you're one who challenged me to a fight!"

"Yeah!" Chomper spat out in agreement. "We just wanted to go through but nooooo, you wanted to make a fight out of it!"

The Broadnose Flyer jumped back in defense and giggled a bit, more like he's amused rather than nervous from the responses. Yes yes, he recalls he actually challenged him to the fight, so he can't really complain that Rex took the fight hard to him.

"All right all right, sheesh. You guys take everything personally."

"Now that the fight is over," Tanner began as he stepped forward toward the Broadnose Flyer. "You must keep your word."

The Broadnose Flyer nodded in response. He knows when he's beat.

"Yeah yeah, you can cross. You have my word." He turned and began to take his leave, but he stopped and turned around to face the group, speaking once more. "But let me leave you with a word of advice."

The group blinked and listened to what the Broadnose Flyer had to say. After all, it could be important.

"Think yourself this: You're out of the puddle, but into the icky goo. You heard stories where a lot of other dinosaurs disappear in that stuff. Do you really want to find out what's underneath all that goo?"

Rex, Chomper, Yu and Terrel gulped. Now that was a bad analogy. They came across that substance once or twice before. That icky black goo that was thick to the touch, and very hard to swim in. If you fall in it you would slowly sink, and it was very hard to get out of that stuff. And now this Broadnose Flyer is using that analogy to this situation they are in.

So what does he mean? Are they about to cross a dangerous place? Much more dangerous than the Fire Region they were in just yesterday? Never a dull moment you would say, but just for once Rex would like to have one uneventful day of traveling.

"Well, that's all I got to say." The Broadnose Flyer finished with a grin. "See you guys around. Have fun!"

"W-Wait!" Rex called out, but the Broadnose Flyer was already gone. Now this is unsettling. He fought for the right to cross this place, but now he's having second thoughts. He turned to the others with a worried look. "So um, what do you guys think?"

"I-I don't know…" Yu replied with a shake of his head. "I'd rather take my chances with Runner with the way he made it sound like."

"He scared me too." Chomper admitted with a nod. "B-But we got this far and we made Rex fight for that guy to let us go on. We can't turn back now after all that."

"I agree." Tanner declared as he took a step forward. "We're already off course, but if we cross through this area we could skip the desert and be that much closer to Crescent Valley." He paused as he looked back to the others. "We already went through the trouble of having Rex fight to cross, so we might as well continue."

The group looks at each other and nods. Tanner's right, they already came this far. They can't go back now and let Rex's fight become nothing more than a waste of time. They're already here and if what Tanner says is true then crossing this area would be a shortcut, or at least make up for that little chase with Runner and skip the desert. Needless to say Chomper is relieved to hear the latter.

As he watched Tanner take the lead Rex turned to his friends with a nod.

"Let's go."

With a nod from everyone they all went on. Who knows where they are now, what dangers they're walking themselves into and what awaits them ahead.

One thing they keep telling themselves though: It certainly can't be worse than having a revenge-driven Fast Biter chasing after them with lust for their blood…

As they moved forward they could see in the distance some more mountains. Where could they be headed, another chain of mountains to traverse through? Or have they leaded themselves into a valley?

Their questions were answered when they reached the end of the road, the ledge of a cliff. The group gasped upon at what they saw. They couldn't believe what they were setting their eyes upon.

"Where are we?" Yu muttered.

"If I didn't know any better," Rex began to answer. "I'd say we went in a circle and ended up back in the Great Valley."

Or so you could say. The valley looked eerily similar to the Great Valley, a lush green place with a fantastic lake near in the middle. Not to mention its very own Thundering Falls! While you could say it was nearly a similar valley as the Great Valley, there was something off on this one. The atmosphere felt…Heavy, like something is not right here. Sinister you could say.

"Wow…" Terrel said in awe. He's never seen anything like this.

"Is this…Is this Crescent Valley?" Yu asked as he looked at Rex.

Rex beamed at first at the thought of already being in Crescent Valley…But then his smile turns into a frown. In the end, he shakes his head.

"No…This isn't Crescent Valley…" He sadly answered as he bowed his head. "I doubt we'd already be there, we've only been out here for two Bright Circles now…"

"Oh…" Yu frowned, now he made Rex feel bad. "Well…Um…At least we…Found a nice place to rest, right? Kind of like a second Great Valley."

"No…" Chomper responded with a slight growl. "There's something different about this one…I can feel it…"

"I agree with you there." Tanner added with an uneasy look. "It may look like a nice place, but there's something eerie about it, and I don't like it."

"Whatever it is, I don't want to set foot in this place…." Chomper added with a shudder. "Now I get it by what that guy meant by getting out of the puddle but into the icky goo…"

Rex began to frown; he too could feel the horrible feeling that lingers here. Yes, this place looks nearly as beautiful as the Great Valley, but there's something there. Something that they knew they wanted no part of. Like finding an unknown cavern and something evil is waiting inside, just daring you to come in so it can eat you.

He felt threatened. Heck, they all felt threatened just by standing out here by the edge of the cliff.

"I…I think we should turn back…" Chomper advised as he took a few steps back.

Tanner shook his head.

"We're already here. Turning back now will just be a waste of time and I will _not_ fail on the task we've been given."

They all looked down at the valley. Despite being beautiful they still couldn't shake the feeling of dread. Maybe if they would just rush through this place and lay low nothing will happen to them. After all, life in the Mysterious Beyond all leads up to this, crossing dangerous and life-threatening areas just to reach the better place on the other side.

Rex made up his mind.

"As much as I don't want to, we don't have much of a choice. Besides, it's either this or the desert under the hot Bright Circle."

Chomper recalls his dislike of crossing deserts, but right now that sounds more pleasant than crossing this.

"Right now I feel better about walking under the Bright Circle in the desert…"

"You go if you wish." Tanner growled before setting onward down the mountain toward the valley. "But I'm not wasting any more time by standing here debating."

"But…!"

"I know how you feel, Chomper." Rex looked down at Chomper as he rubbed his paw over his head for comfort. "But come on, how bad can it be? We've been through this kind of thing before."

Chomper learned by now to trust his instincts above all else. It's what helps keep him and his parents alive. If he knows there's something that gives him this same sense of dread and threat, he knows he must avoid it at all cost.

But then again, sometimes the risks are worth it, and he's with his friends after all. If he sticks by them, he should be fine.

"Okay." Chomper nods, summoning up his courage. "Let's go."

"There we go." Rex smiles at his friend, and together they follow Tanner down the mountain.

Yu made sure Terrel was all right with this before following them.

* * *

Wow, that was fun. Despite having lived with peaceful leafeaters all his life, he wasn't half bad.

"Haha, what a rush." Pascal commented with a slight laugh. "But I'm afraid Rex proved to be the tougher one."

It was agreed that after a set of time they would meet up in a certain spot. Tamal was to give Pascal time to peacefully play with Rex and the others while he tried to keep the Darkarians busy as to not spot them.

Tamal however wasn't happy.

"You threw away the fight, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Pascal replied with a giggle as he stuck his tongue out like a silly hatchling.

"Bah, whatever." Tamal shook his head, sometimes not believing how childish Pascal acts even in serious situations. "Either way, he's here now. So, what are we going to do now?"

"You act as if it's all some big mystery question. You know this one already."

"Yes, I do. But there's one problem." Tamal growls as he looks over at Pascal. "The Darkarians are also looking for him. And he just landed right in their paws. Now, how are we going to get him out of here alive and with what we want?"

"Obviously, we watch and help if they need it." Another voice interrupted.

Tamal and Pascal turned and saw another wingless Broadnose Flyer in their presence. He looked eerily similar to Rex. Blue-green skin with a dark blue underbelly and dark blue feathers along his head down his neck with a single long feather right above his forehead draped down between its eyes and nearly touching his muzzle.

"Oh great," Pascal sighed with a groan. "What's _he _doing here?"

"Shut up already, Pascal." Tamal huffed as he looked over at the newcomer. "What brings you here, Kumo?"

Kumo approached the two wingless Broadnose Flyer with an empty expression. Ah yes, Kumo, the Broadnose Flyer who spent his whole life with the Sodom pack, the Fast Biter rival pack of the Toviel's, Yu's pack.

He's rather unique in the sense that he's practically forgotten all about emotions. You can tell him the funniest joke or the saddest story and he won't budge a facial muscle. Who knows what he's gone through to come to this state of mind where to him feelings are nonexistent.

"Druce sent me." Kumo answered as he came to a stop.

"Checking up on us, I presume?"

"Just go back and tell him we'll be back soon!" Pascal responded with a glare. For some reason Pascal never liked Kumo.

"Pascal!" Tamal scolded with a growl.

Kumo simply shook his head.

"I overheard Rex is here in the valley." Kumo commented as he flexed his claws a bit, stretching the muscles in his paws. "Whose idea was it to let him in?"

"Hey! I didn't let him in!" Pascal responded in self-defense. "He beat me, fair and square!"

"More like you threw the fight." Tamal growled under his breath.

"Whatever. Now we got a real problem here. Rex being here isn't the problem, it's the odds of him getting out of here alive."

Pascal blinked and shrugged his shoulders. He's not seeing the problem here.

"So what? We already got enough to follow with the plan. What difference does it make if he lives or dies?"

Kumo growls threateningly at Pascal.

"Do you _want_ the Rock Rangers and the others to find out about us?!"

Pascal remained quiet. Yes, it's important to keep themselves from the Rock Rangers to keep their plans afloat. If the Rock Rangers were to find out about their existence, it could prove difficult- if not impossible- to follow with their plans.

In other words, they depend on Rex to get what they want to deliver to the others without getting their paws dirty. A pawn, if you must.

"Ignore the little egg." Tamal insults Pascal with a snarl. "So, what do you have in mind?"

"Keep your noses out of Rex's business." Kumo responds. "Leave him to me. You two continue on as you were."

"Right, the Darkarians don't know about you, so they can't link you back to us and ruin our cover."

"Kumo to the rescue." Pascal added as he circled a claw in the air mocking a celebration. "Yipee."

Kumo scoffed at the child and turned tail to take his leave. It's been a long time since he last saw Rex. As much as he wouldn't want to see him again, he'd have to this time. But at least he'll have the safety of knowing that Rex won't figure out anything that he knows.

For his sake.

* * *

You would think that a place that gave a group of hunters that feeling of dread and despair would be much more threatening than this.

The valley was absolutely the opposite of what they felt. In fact, just by seeing the place up close was enough to get rid of the awful feelings.

The grass under their feet felt nice, the green food seen up on the trees looked delicious for Rex. It was…Peaceful.

For them they couldn't understand it. How could a lovely place such as this make them feel threatened?

But then again, looks can be deceiving, and they just got here and haven't set foot into the place other than the first impressions when they got off the mountain. One small step at a time, rushing in could get them killed.

"So…What now?" Rex questioned as they stand behind a mountain wall, just around the corner they can just come out of hiding and face whatever it's out there.

Nobody knew what to answer him with. They can't just jump out and explore, they had to be careful. Plus that feeling of dread still lingers, so whoever takes the first step outside will earn their respect.

Tanner was first to peak outside. He looked down both sides but suddenly gasped and hid behind the wall again, startling the group who were just a few seconds ago thinking about what to do next.

"W-What? What is it?" Chomper asked.

Tanner hushed him up and huddled back against the wall to hide, pushing the others back as he did so. They all stayed quiet as they hid, clearly not knowing what they're hiding from but also scared to even find out.

"What is it?" They heard a voice.

Rex held his breath.

"I thought I saw something." Another voice responded.

Chomper bit his lower lip.

"Oh for heaven's sakes, you and your paranoia. There's nothing here."

Terrel huddled close to Yu's leg.

"I'm telling you I thought I saw something!"

Tanner tensed, ready for an attack if they're found.

"There's nothing here. Now shut up and move! It's our turn to guard the mountain tops."

Yu winced from the shouting.

"All right, fine."

The group stayed quiet and still as they listened, whoever those two were they started to move away. Slowly Tanner crept up to the edge and carefully looked out to make sure the coast was clear. Luckily for them the two unknowns left without making a double-check. They were safe, for now.

With a nod from Tanner the group sighed in relief.

"That was close…" Rex sighed as he lied down on his stomach. "I was sure we were caught…"

"Were they Sharpteeth?" Chomper asked to Tanner.

"Worse." Tanner responded as he turned to the others. "Longneck Biters."

"What? Longneck Biters?" Yu sounded surprised to even hear that.

"Not just Longneck Biters." Tanner added with dread. "Darkarians."

The group gasped.

"What?!"

Talk about getting out of the puddle and into the icky goo. They managed to give Runner the slip, but now they're in Darkarian territory? That's worse than jumping into icky goo! More like falling into flowing fire!

"Are you sure they're Darkarians?!" Rex inquired, hoping Tanner is just assuming.

Tanner responded with a nod.

"I'm sure. I saw the scars on their shoulders. I can never mistake those."

Rex shook his head. No no no no no. Anything but the Darkarians. He still remembers his encounter against them back outside the Great Valley. They nearly got killed by a couple of them. They'll get slaughtered here.

"Okay, that's not funny." Chomper began as he shook his head. "Now I _really_ say we should turn back and leave!"

"I'm with Chomper!" Yu added with fright. "If we stay here they'll find us and kill us! Let's just turn back and cross the desert and cut our losses about wasted time."

"Too late to even turn back." Tanner informed them. "You heard them; they're going to patrol the mountain tops around here. They just cut our only escape out of here."

Rex grasped his head between his paws and shook it. This is horrible. They're stuck here now.

"Now what are we going to do…?"

Tanner quickly thought of a way they could get out of here alive. Unfortunately one way to do so was stuck in his mind, and he couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

"We move forward." He finally responded. "If we stick to the shadows of the mountain and stay quiet, we might be able to sneak past them. If the Darkarians live here, they might have a system of caves in these mountains as well. I can use that to lead you guys to safety."

"A-Are you sure?" Chomper was terrified. Heck, they all are.

"No guarantees, but I'll do my best to get you all through this alive. I pushed you guys into this, so I'm going to lead you all out of here."

Rex took a deep breath and nodded at Tanner.

"Okay, we're in your paws."

Tanner nodded and looked outside. It seems like the coast is clear, but where to go? Certainly not out in the open where they can be spotted. He studied the mountain formations and the edges of them, mentally mapping the area based on what he can see. He hummed and turned his head to the others.

"Stay close to me." He instructed them.

With a nod the group followed Tanner out of their hiding spot. Sticking close to the mountains they are finding some good shadow to cover themselves in, also quite a few boulders here and there they can take cover behind. They were lucky so to speak, not many of them patrol this area at least. They managed well.

However they eventually ran out of luck. Boulders were starting to become scarce to hide behind in, and they often held their breath as a patrolling Longneck Biter walked past them with their only cover behind a small boulder and the tall grass. Sometimes they even had to resort to rolling in dirt to hide their scent from the opposition.

Eventually they came to a point where sneaking around the valley was not an option. No matter how far they manage to get they just cannot see anything other than Longneck Biters. They not only found Darkarians to hunt them down, they found their _home_. And they're right in the middle of it all at their mercy. Sneaking around down here was getting more and more dangerous.

It was time to resort to the mountain terrain for cover.

With Tanner in the lead they turned to the mountain walls and scaled them. They had to avoid the paths leading up the mountains, sticking to the beaten path would only increase their chances of getting caught.

As they scaled they had to stop and cling tighter to the walls to avoid getting spotted by either Longneck Biters moving down below or above. With dirt clinging to their skins did their job to mask their scent, but everything else depended on their skills as hunters to hide from watchful eyes. Other than Tanner they really had no clue on what they were up against. They didn't know exactly how smart Longneck Biters really are and how good their eyesight and scent are. Every second they stay here is a gamble as to whether or not they'll be alive after that next step.

They couldn't continue to climb to the top however. Not only was the short climb of about twenty feet treacherous enough, but they have no idea what's waiting for them up there at the top. Who's to say there aren't any Longneck Biters up there patrolling the border as well?

They soon found a spot to rest within the mountain range, a spot where Tanner made sure there weren't any Longneck Biters nearby for the group to rest. Once he gave the okay the entire group just collapsed on the floor to rest.

"I'm beat…" Yu complained as he panted.

"So am I…" Terrel chirped as he rested next to his cousin.

Rex lifted his head to look at the group. Yu and Terrel are exhausted. Chomper was hanging in there, but he too was beat. A little scared though, but then again so is everyone. He slowly got up to a sitting position and looked out to the valley. They managed to cover some ground from where they got into the valley, but the process was painfully slow. At this rate they might even have to spend the night here. Now there's something he's not looking forward at all.

"I…Really wasn't expecting a valley such as this…To…Have so many…Meat Eaters…" Chomper managed to say between breaths.

Clearly he's not the only one surprised to see this place filled with nothing but Longneck Biters.

"I know!" Terrel added with a furious nod. "I mean…This place looks more like where Leaf Eaters would live in!"

"Not everything is what it seems, Terrel." Yu responded to his cousin's question along with a gentle nudge with his snout. "I'm sure your father mentioned this to you whenever he would teach you about hunting. Remember?"

Terrel blinked and thought back. Oh yeah, he did mentioned that when his father told him about prey who tried to use their surroundings to hide from potential predators. Not to mention the teachings about trusting your instinct. Although that's something they all seem to have ignored before going into this place.

"Oh…I guess I just forgot?"

"You should all stop your talking and rest." Tanner interrupted the group with a slight growl. "Any more of your yapping and you could alert the Darkarians."

Terrel flinched and lowered his head.

"Sorry…"

Rex frowned. Tanner seems pretty stressed. Maybe he's bothered by the fact that he thinks he pushed them into this place, or maybe the fact that he's practically babysitting them through this place is getting to him.

Whatever the reason he would have to deal with it; at least until after they find a way out of this valley. After a few minutes of rest the group was on the move again. They tried this time to take the paths they could find in the mountain range, moving east and following the range toward south. If Tanner was oriented enough they came into the valley from the north side, and if there's a proper entrance to this valley then it would have to be to the huge cavern he saw to the south side. If they can get there without being caught- or worse, killed- they could navigate through the cavern and they would be out.

However, nothing is that easy.

Just as the group cross another flat space in the path they found an obstacle they wished they wouldn't face here.

A dead end.

"Great…" Tanner scoffed.

As the group pondered what to do next Chomper- who was trailing behind a few feet- blinked as he heard a crackling sound. It sounded like it was coming from a close source. Something in him told him to look down, and when he did he could almost feel his heart climbing up his throat.

Cracks were webbing all over across the ground.

Frightened Chomper immediately tried to get away from the cracks, but not even taking three steps did the ground give way under him. And before the others knew it Chomper was no longer with them.

The sound of his scream startled the group to turn around and gasp to see their friend missing, nothing but a hole in the ground from where he was.

"Chomper!!"

The group ran back to the spot and looked down the hole, but with their additional weight the cracks simply just grow bigger and the ground under them breaks as well, plummeting the whole group down into the chasm.

They must really pay attention to never _ever_ get close to a hole. The additional weight just might make a bigger hole and drop them as well.

"Ow…" Rex rubbed the back of his head as he sat up. That was a long fall down and a stupid pebble just had to land on his noggin. "My head…"

Tanner grunted as he got up, pushing and shaking off rocks and pebbles off of him.

"Is everyone okay?"

Yu lifted his head and spat out dirt before answering.

"I'm fine…I think…"

"Get…Off…"

Yu looked down and gasped as he realized he landed on top of Chomper. He immediately jumped off of the Sharptooth and helped him up with his snout, making sure his friend is all right and nothing broken from the fall. He immediately then made sure that Terrel was all right as well. He was starting to curse again Terrel's desire that made him follow them out here. This valley, this Darkarian-infested hive, is no place for a child like him.

"Okay…Now what?" Chomper asked for their next move as he got up to his feet.

Tanner sniffed the air, checking for any presence of Darkarians in the caverns. Okay, if the Darkarians haven't alienated their Longneck Biter instincts too, these caverns are supposed to be free until the Night Circle goes up in the sky. Though given their track records he wouldn't be surprised if they've turned their backs on their instincts as well.

"Looks like we only have one way to go." Rex commented after he stood up on all four and looked down both directions of the cave.

"B-B-But aren't the Darkarians in here?" Yu pointed out, the fear in his voice was very obvious.

"They shouldn't be." Tanner responded after sniffing the air, not catching any scents in the area. "Longneck Biters stay out of their caverns while the Bright Circle is out, they only go in when the Night Circle is up."

"Are you sure?" Yu added to his questions.

Tanner looked over his shoulder at Yu and turned to face him.

"Kid, I'm a Longneck Biter. If I'm not sure of my own kind of dinosaurs, then who can give you better advice?"

Good point.

"Well we aren't gonna get anywhere by standing around." Despite being scared as well Rex wanted to get out of here, now. "As long as the Bright Circle is out we better take this chance to get out of here before they all come home for the night."

Chomper nods in agreement.

"Sounds good to me. Let's go, Tanner!"

With a nod the group was on the move again. Like Rex said, they only have one way to go; they can't go down the other way lest they want to backtrack.

Gathering their courage they moved down the cavern, keeping their eyes open for any movements and keeping their sniffers in check for any scents that aren't their own. It was painfully slow moving through the caverns, but they needed to be careful, now more than ever that they're stuck in the caverns. Unlike the outside where they had room to maneuver and get away they were sitting ducks in these caverns. If they're caught and outnumbered, it's over.

They said it before and they'll say it again, facing Runner and his group sound much more pleasant right about now.

The road down the caverns was pretty straightforward. Every now and then they would face with multiple paths of course, but Tanner took the lead over which direction to choose. He's a Longneck Biter after all, and all those Bright Circles living in the caverns in the Great Valley walls must've made him an expert in travelling through caves and tunnels.

While Yu stayed close to Terrel while through these caverns, Rex got a little nostalgic with the pebbles and rocks all over the ground. He lost count on how many times he's stubbed his toes and tripping over rocks. By now his paws ached, but he wouldn't dare to stop and increase the dangers.

Chomper, as usual, kept a straight face and his bravery up when on the field, but you could tell that underneath all that tough Sharptooth act he's just as nervous and scared as the others.

As for Tanner, he tried his best to remain calm and lead the others to safety.

They all soon reached a chamber in the caverns. They were standing up a ledge with a two story drop in front of them. Down below they peaked and saw a Longneck Biter or two either patrolling the caverns below or just passing through. They couldn't really tell.

"We can't go this way." Rex stated the obvious. "There are Longneck Biters down there."

Tanner hummed as he looked at their options. There's a path to go down, but it'll just lead to the level below where those two Longneck Biters are. Who knows if there are others down there, they can't risk taking those two down and hope nobody would hear the fight and come to check the noise out.

Their other choice would be another path that leads them upward, and while it may seem like a good idea to get far from these Longneck Biters it really doesn't seem to lead south, where they intend on going.

"Looks like we're going up." Tanner told the group as he stepped toward the other path they had available.

The group looked at each other before following Tanner. They felt nearly safe in these tunnels too until they found Longneck Biters. Who knows what awaits them on the upper level. Maybe more Longneck Biters?

As they follow the path a crack in the cavern wall catches Chomper's attention. He stopped for a moment to investigate the crack, seeing that it actually leads to another chamber in this maze of caverns and tunnels. He noticed the crack was big enough for him to squeeze through, but not anyone else.

Wondering where it leads his curiosity takes over as he slowly squeezed through the crack, trying not to make a sound as he ventured deeper into the narrow pathway. He sniffed the air with his sniffer to check for any scents up ahead, just in case he needed to be ready to turn around and go back.

He didn't go too far through the narrow pathway when he started hearing something. It sounded like…Voices.

As quietly as he could he reached the end of the narrow pathway and found himself up on a ledge in another chamber. He wasn't alone either, for as he looked down from his ledge he spotted another Longneck Biter talking with a…He wished it wasn't, but the Longneck Biter's talking with a…a…

A Broadnose Flyer.

"And what brings you back to Fortress Valley?" The Longneck Biter inquires.

Fortress Valley…? Is that the name of this valley?

The Broadnose Flyer was standing on all four in front of the Longneck Biter, his wings closed against his back. Chomper thought back as he laid his eyes on him, but it took him a few seconds for him to realize who he's looking at here. This Broadnose Flyer is the same one they faced back at the Great Valley Mountains!

"I've simply come to discuss the progress on the plan." The Broadnose Flyer responded as he eyed the Longneck Biter. "However, I'm curious to also discuss on what your kind has planned for the boy."

"Boy?" The Longneck Biter seems to act as if he does not know who he's referring to.

"Don't play dumb with me, rockhead." The Broadnose Flyer l growled, adding an insult at the end. "I know you are aware of him, the Broadnose Flyer born in the Great Valley."

The Longneck Biter didn't say anything. He didn't have to; it's obvious this Broadnose Flyer has done his homework.

"I am simply curious to know the Darkarians' plans on what to do with him." The Broadnose Flyer continued as he looked at his claws, examining them.

"That is for us to know." The Longneck Biter merely replied. "If you are concerned, there is no need to lose sleep over a mere child."

As Chomper listened in he couldn't help but worry. This Broadnose Flyer, could he mean Rex? Born in the Great Valley…Yup, that sounds like Rex. What do they want with him? What did he do to deserve their attention so badly?

"Oh quite the contrary my friend." The Broadnose Flyer added as he moved his eyes away from his claws and to the Longneck Biter. "I myself have plans for him. One that will benefit both sides."

"Oh?" The Longneck Biter inquired with interest.

"Yes. You see, as part of your alliance I too am aware of your plans and ideals." The Broadnose Flyer began as he set his paw down to the ground, his eyes firmly placed on the Longneck Biter. "This boy, this nuisance as I hear some of your rockheads call him, can be of good use to us."

The Longneck Biter listened. This is the first time the Broadnose Flyer side of their alliance even had something to contribute to the cause. And if it involves him, then it'd better be good, just in case they'd have to call off the order for his head.

"As we all are aware, this Broadnose Flyer has close ties to the inhabitants of the Great Valley, including the Rock Rangers you so despise." He looks at the Longneck Biter as he continues. "I believe I can exploit that weakness of his."

"You seem confident about this plan of yours." The Longneck Biter adds. "And how, pray tell, certain are you that he will comply? I am fairly certain from Stormwhite's report that he has seen your face."

"Oh he will." The Broadnose Flyer added to prove his confidence. "I have a certain…Link to him as you say, that will make him listen and obey me. He will come looking for that love he has been robbed of for so many bright circles."

The Longneck Biter remained quiet and calm. If he was surprised, he sure did a good job at hiding it. He began to wonder what this Broadnose Flyer meant. A certain link to him? He suddenly thought back to an operation the Darkarians did many many many bright circles ago, back when the alliance with the Broadnose Flyers was first brought up.

Longneck Biters moving through the night…A certain attack…One Broadnose Flyer in the group…

"Ah yes, as I recall." The Longneck Biter finally talked. "So, that was you."

The Broadnose Flyer nodded. He too recalls that night.

"Yes, just as you recall, that fateful night where your merry group of savages attacked my home…"

"Yes, when we began the alliance with the Broadnose Flyers." The Longneck Biter adds, once again with no surprise or shock in his figure or voice. "So that boy is the result of our deeds. Or, in other words, your son."

Chomper had to hold his mouth shut with his arms to keep himself from gasping out loud. This Broadnose Flyer…Is he really Rex's…?

The Broadnose Flyer remained quiet as he stared at the Longneck Biter with a glare, remembering that night.

_So many bright circles ago he found himself enjoying a pleasant life in the forests near the Great Valley._

_He was looking for a place to settle, and he found one._

_One thing he wasn't counting on though was the presence of the Longneck Biters._

_He was attacked…_

"…You agreed no harm would be brought to him while I served you…"

"Very well." The Longneck Biter broke the momentary silence. "We shall discuss further upon the matter later in the presence of the master. He will also be intrigued to hear on what you have planned."

The Broadnose Flyer turned his head away.

"Of course. As long as you keep your end of the deal." He finally replied. "In addition, I would also like to remind you on the terms the other Broadnose Flyers have agreed on when they decided to form this charming family of ours."

"A reassurance?"

"More like a reminder on what we wish to gain on this little agreement."

"You insult me, believing that we have forgotten." He fully remembers the agreement. "In return for their aid, they expect full recognition of your kind as equal to ours, control of Fortress Valley handed over to them after our success in taking the Great Valley, and the death of the dominant Broadnose Flyer in Crescent Valley."

The Broadnose Flyer nodded. Oh yes, he does remember.

"That is correct. And I hope you intend on keeping your word."

"I am a Longneck Biter of my word." The Longneck Biter closed his eyes as he slightly lifted his head. "Of course, you'd be wise to do the same."

"Are your pathetic lesser lights speaking to you again?" The Broadnose Flyer spat out. Oh how he hated when this Longneck Biter began his stupid story telling with the lesser lights in the sky.

"…" The Longneck Biter didn't respond for a few seconds. "Your second shall weep before thy dying breath…That is what they are saying."

"Pfft," The Broadnose Flyer spat, what does that mean anyway? "Thanks for your free prophecy, but I don't believe in that stupid tale about you."

"Believe what you wish. It is not of my concern." The Longneck Biter began to turn to leave. "I will inform the master of your presence. He will like to hear what you have to say."

"Let me remind you once again," The Broadnose Flyer interrupted the Longneck Biter. "You lay a single claw on the boy, and I'll make you all regret it."

"Is that a threat?"

"Decipher it to your own conclusion."

Chomper was terrified. So it was true. The Broadnose Flyers are working with the Darkarians to take over the Great Valley! Just as they expected! And what's worse…This Broadnose Flyer…He's…!

He couldn't hear anymore of this. Staggering in fright and horror the little Sharptooth made his way back through the crack. His mind was all a blur trying to let everything he heard sink in. The name of the place, their goals, and the horrible truth he just heard.

He knows he heard him call Rex 'son' back when they fought him at the Great Valley Mountains. But he didn't truly believe him until he heard him talk about it again. And this Longneck Biter seems in on it too. That's more proof that it's true.

He managed to get through to the other side and turned to face the crack, slowly backing away from it. His heart was still thumping against his chest, still unable to believe what he just heard.

And if that wasn't enough, he just bumped into something.

"Chomper!"

The Sharptooth jumped with a yell. He turned around and pressed his back to the wall. To his relief, it was just Tanner, Rex and Yu. And they don't look too happy.

Tanner gave him a glare before speaking.

"Where in the world were you? We were worried sick the moment we looked back and saw you gone!"

"We thought you fell down another hole or something." Yu added with a slight growl. "Or worse, a Darkarian grabbed you."

Chomper tried to say something, but he lost his voice from the horrific event he just went through back there, hearing a few nasty things. And just the sight of Rex reminded him of one thing he heard back there.

Rex frowned upon noticing his friend's terrifying look.

"Are you okay? You look like you've just woke up from a sleep terror…A really bad sleep terror."

Sleep terrors. The opposite of sleep stories.

"I-I-I'm fine…" Chomper managed to find his voice, getting a bit calmer. "I'm sorry; I just…Found this little crack in the wall that led somewhere."

Tanner gave him a look, but instead of snapping at him he just sighed and looked back at Chomper with a gentler look.

"Judging by how shaken up you are, you must've seen or found something."

"I uhhh…Saw a Longneck Biter…Talking with a Broadnose Flyer…"

Rex blinked. A Broadnose Flyer? Here?

"R-Really? What'd they say?"

"They were talking about…Taking over the Great Valley together with the Broadnose Flyer…"

"As suspected." Tanner sighed aggravatingly. "Seems like we have more of a reason to get to Crescent Valley and deliver the news as soon as possible now."

Rex was disappointed. He hoped it was just a rumor. That only one rouge Broadnose Flyer was in the coup. But now, hearing from Chomper that there were more of them, he couldn't begin to tell how much it hurt him that his own kind would do such a thing. He turned his head away in sadness, feeling shame for their actions.

"This place…" Chomper continued. "I heard they also called it Fortress Valley."

"Fortress Valley…?"

"You've heard of it before?" Yu inquired.

"No, doesn't ring any bells." Tanner answered with a shake of his head. "But let's leave that aside for now. It's obvious we can't stay here. Let's just move on and get out of here before we're caught."

"Yeah!" Terrel chirped with a nod. "Let's go! Please, I'm scared!"

Yu lowered his head and nuzzled his cousin.

"We're almost out, Terrel. Hang in there."

Motioning his head to continue Tanner led the way again through the tunnel with Yu and Terrel following behind. Rex was still standing there with his head turned away, feeling sad and ashamed about his kind helping the Darkarians on their mission. How could they side with them on such a horrible deed?

Chomper couldn't help but stare at Rex with a frown. Oh man, how is he going to tell him? How is he going to say to him that he has just seen his father, and he's the one leading the Broadnose Flyer alliance with the Darkarians? Could he even bring himself to say? He was praying that he would find his family in Crescent Valley, and find the parental love he never had there. How is he going to tell him that he will never find that love now?

Rex turned his head as he noticed everyone leaving. Before he followed them he took note of Chomper's stare.

"What is it?"

Chomper shook his head.

"…Nothing." He couldn't bring himself to tell him.

Rex was about to say something but he stilled his tongue. Chomper must've been pretty scared in there as he's still slightly shaken, so maybe he shouldn't push on what he heard about the Broadnose Flyer. Instead he looked over to his right and motioned to Chomper.

"We should get going before we're left behind."

"Y-Yeah, okay."

With that the two Sharpteeth moved to catch up to the others. Leaving behind the tunnel and crack in the wall that revealed so much to the young Sharptooth.

Fortress Valley, huh? So this is the Darkarians' home…

Before they knew it the tunnel lead them back outside somewhere in the surrounding mountains of the valley. As they step outside to the fresh air and the warmth of the sun they notice they've made it halfway through the road. If they continue this pace and avoid being seeing they should get to the exit and get out of there before the Bright Circle goes down.

They were lucky they haven't been caught yet. Tanner's really good at this sneaking around stuff.

"We're doing well." Tanner told the others. "I believe that cavern to the south of us should take us outside of the valley."

Who knows if it really leads them out, but it's their best chance to get out of here. It's their home, so if Tanner's home at the Great Valley is of any indication they have the mountain tops well guarded. Trying to sneak over the mountains to get out will practically be suicide.

"I hope you're right." Rex comments as he scratches his nose. "I'm actually getting worried. I mean, Fortress Valley? Definitely sounds like a place the Darkarians would make their home in. One wrong step and we're dead."

Tanner stalked toward a path downhill to make sure the coast is clear, but he suddenly froze in his tracks.

"…Tanner?"

"Shh."

The group looked at each other and remained quiet. They inched closer to where Tanner was and laid low to avoid being seen. Soon they began to hear voices, a female and a male. Oh great, more Longneck Biters over here.

"Have you heard from Amaro…?" The male voice asked.

"Yes, I saw him not too long ago. I believe he said he was going to Crescent Valley again."

Rex blinked. What? Crescent Valley? What are the Darkarians even going there? Isn't that Broadnose Flyer territory? Please…Don't let it be that Crescent Valley is in cahoots with the Darkarians…

"Ever since that Broadnose Flyer joined, we've been sent to that valley…And for what…?"

"I'm not sure…But I don't like it…It's like they're trying to start something…"

"You're giving them too much credit, Hitomi…"

From the sounds of it, it seems like Crescent Valley is having Darkarian problems too. Wow, Rex thought, they're a bigger problem than they realized.

"I don't know how much more I can take of this…" The male voice added with a sigh.

"I know how you feel, Blanco. But we can't just leave. Any traitors will be hunted down and killed."

"There's gotta be a way…I'm sick of this…Every day being the punching bag, being teased at…Getting the glare from you-know-who…I can't go on like this…I want out…"

"Blanco…"

Rex frowned. He couldn't help but feel bad for this Blanco person. It sounds like he's really gotten the short end of the stick in this pack. It's funny, he never expected to feel sorry for a Darkarian. Inching a bit closer he managed to catch sight of the two Longneck Biters.

One of them was pure white with a single orange strip on his neck, a larger one on his back and one on his tail (roughly the same size as the one on his neck). The X scar is on his left shoulder.

The other Longneck Biter has a light blue underbelly and her whole body a dark teal color. The X scar is on her right shoulder.

"It's not fair." The male, Blanco, continued. "I was born into the Darkarians. I never liked the way they did things, but I never had a choice in the matter." He growled as he clawed at the ground. "I'm not much of a fighter; I'm just fresh meat just waiting to happen. Ugh, curse my mother and father…"

"I understand your frustration, Blanco." The female consoled Blanco. "I don't approve of their ways either. My father is one of the highest ranking in the Darkarian's army. However, I refuse to leave without him, he's all I have…"

"Hitomi…"

It was rather sad; to see these two stuck in something they refuse to be a part of with no way out. So, looks like not all the Darkarians are bad. Imagine that.

Rex, Chomper, Yu and Terrel all felt sorry for them. Tanner however wasn't so impressed, and instead turned his tail rather than show sympathy.

"Whatever…"

The group looks at each other. Okay, so maybe Darkarians were never on good terms with Tanner, but to spare no sympathy for these two? That's true hatred right there.

"Let's go." Tanner urges the group to move. "Before they spot us."

The four decide not to ask questions as they turn and follow Tanner down another path. They still got a bit ways to go before they can even get out of here.

As they took their leave though, a third Longneck Biter has found and made his way to Hitomi and Blanco. He looked rather young to even be in this kind of violent pack, his feathers looking new and clean, his brown skin and tan underbelly. He's a guard in the valley, but he urges to be out on the field soon to join the others in their hunts.

"Blanco." The newcomer speaks, his voice sounding young but ruff. "It's time." He did not wait for a reply as he soon turned and walked away afterwards.

Hitomi cocked her head and looked at Blanco.

"Time…?"

Blanco lowered his head with a sigh.

"Today's a prisoner's execution…We're feeding them to the pups…"

"What? How could they…? Don't tell me it's the-"

"I'm afraid so…" Blanco screwed his eyes shut, unable to bring himself to move. "It's my turn today with him…I don't know if I can bring myself to do it…"

Hitomi gently nuzzled Blanco to comfort him. Blanco was never the bravest or the strongest one. In fact, he was practically a wimp. A shy and weak Longneck Biter who's always stuck in the lowest job in the pack.

"I should get going…" Blanco muttered to Hitomi before taking his leave.

Meanwhile the group of intruders was making their way to the south through the mountains. They've managed to give the slip to a few Longneck Biters passing through so far, so far everything's going smoothly.

Tanner made sure to keep every single one of his senses heightened and his mind prepared in case anything were to happen. Like a hunter stalking his prey, he had to be ready for anything.

When they came across a clearing through the mountains he just had to stop behind a group of boulders with the others. The end of the road. Up ahead they'll just find themselves out in the open where everyone can see them. The cavern is just up ahead, but they'll have to get across to get there. And from the look of things, they'll be spotted way before they even get there.

Tanner looked for another option. He spots another route that leads to a cave, but it definitely won't lead them to the one they want.

"Looks like we'll have to make a run for it." Tanner told the others once he reached his conclusion.

"Make a run for it?" Yu echoed with a whimper. "Are you crazy? We'll be dead before we get to the cave!"

"What other choice do we have? We can't stay in the mountains. The path ends here."

The group took a moment of silence to think. Tanner's right, this is the path's end. They can't rely on the cover of the mountains to move anymore. It's either make a run for it or stay here and wait to be captured.

Rex looked at the cave close by. It doesn't look like it'll take them to where they want.

Suddenly they were startled to hear a very loud chirp, almost like a roar. It sounded distressed, pleading for help.

"What was that?" Chomper inquired, startled by the sound.

Yu shook his head.

"I'm not sure, but why does it sound familiar…"

Just suddenly two Longneck Biters were coming up the path, prompting the group to hide behind the boulders. As careful as they could they peaked from behind the boulders to spy on the two Longneck Biters. A brown one and a white one, the same one they saw earlier.

They watched them go right into the cave, curiously seeing the white one hesitating to go in for a few seconds.

Before the group could say anything between them they heard the same loud chirping sound again, this time sounding more desperate.

Yu listened as best he could to the call for help, and then it hit him like a rock being thrown at his head. He recognizes that sound…!

"Rex…!"

Rex looked at Yu. He's starting to recognize the sound as well. Even Terrel seem to recognize it. It does sound familiar…

It then hit Rex too. That call for help is from Yu's pack! And he recognizes who's calling for help too. It's from a Fast Biter, and it's coming from someone they used to know!

"It can't be…" Rex gasped.

"What?" Tanner felt like he was missing something. He looked back and forth between Rex and Yu, beckoning for an answer. "What is it? What?!"

They didn't answered though, their instincts to help one of their own suddenly took over. Almost without thinking Yu broke off in a run toward the source of the sound.

"H-Hey!" Chomper called out. "Yu! Come back!" He suddenly jumped as Rex too followed suit. "R-Rex! Not you too!"

Tanner was confused and horrified. Where in the world are they going?! They're going to get themselves killed!

Tanner was about to call them back when he almost felt like falling to the ground in horror. Even Terrel ran off after them! Of all people. Terrel!

Have they gone insane?!

Taking the lead Rex and Yu ran into the cave as the chirps echoed through the tunnels. They recognize that call from anywhere. Yu's pack has their own distress chirp that would only be used to call for help from the others. It's a Fast Biter thing.

But…But how? A Fast Biter from Yu's pack? Here? Was it following them?

They both finally reach the end of the tunnel and stop by the entrance of a chamber. Standing before them are the two Longneck Biters from before: the brown one and the white one. Just beyond them are three Fast Biters, two small hatchlings and a big one, presumably their mother.

"You fellas are next." The brown Longneck Biter growled to the prisoners. He took a step forward but the Fast Biter reacted with a more threatening growl, keeping her hatchlings safe behind her legs. "Peh, you can either come alive or dead. It doesn't make a difference."

The Fast Biter snarled and did that chirp again.

"Bah! You're annoying me with that stupid call of yours!" The brown Longneck Biter snarled and nearly bit the Fast Biter's head off. "Shut your trap already!"

Blanco merely watched in horror. He doesn't want any part of this. They can't fight back, what's the point of this? This isn't the right way to get their meals. Why are they even resorting to keeping other dinosaurs prisoners like this?

"Fine." The brown Longneck Biter spat and took another step forward. "You want to come dead? It'd be my pleasure!"

The Fast Biter snarled and lunged to attack. The Longneck Biter jumped in with his great speed and slammed his paw across the Fast Biter's face, knocking her down to the ground with merely one blow.

The hatchlings chirped, worried for their mother, but their mother growled at them to stay back. After that the Longneck Biter was about to slam his paw down on her head to kill her, until a certain someone beckoned him to stop.

"Stop!"

The Longneck Biter stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. Much to his surprise- and amusement- there's a Broadnose Flyer and another Fast Biter…Wait, make that two Fast Biters, in the same cave as they are.

"What the heck is this?" The Longneck Biter muttered as he turned to face the newcomers. "Where did you three come from?"

The Broadnose Flyer simply growled and pointed a claw at the two Longneck Biters.

"Let them go, or you'll have to deal with us!"

The Longneck Biter simply grinned and burst out laughing. The Broadnose Flyer merely frowned and lowered his claw, looking at his Fast Biter friend and back at the Longneck Biter, looking rather confused at the laughing.

"Bwahahah! Oh that's rich, kid!" The Longneck Biter laughed. "You…Hahah, you seriously think you're…Hahaha…That you're…A threat to me?" The Longneck Biter slowly calmed down and bared his teeth at the intruders. "You fellas aren't even worth being appetizers!"

Rex shook his head and glared at the Longneck Biter as he went down on all fours. Yu even took up his stance to fight, baring his teeth and claws.

"Ah…" The Longneck Biter was amused the three shrimps weren't backing down. Ain't this lucky, he's going to bring more meat to the pups than he was planning.

Rex, Yu and Terrel weren't even thinking at this point, they were running on instincts. Living in a pack of Fast Biters they've acquired an instinct to stick together and help other Fast Biters of the same pack in need, even at the risk of their own lives. They knew the potential suicide risk here, but they didn't pay any mind to it. Their instincts to help one of their own have completely overwritten any sense of self-safety.

"Hahah, you kids got spunk. Well, if you want to die…" He grinned as he placed a paw on the Fast Biter's head, pinning her down. "I guess I can arrange something right now."

Yu was growing more agitated as the Longneck Biter laid a paw on the Fast Biter's head. He just couldn't take it seeing another harming one of their own.

"Sharptooth dirt!" Yu swore out at the Longneck Biter.

"Oh, what language." The Longneck Biter responded with a grin. "Is your mother proud of you for that one?"

Mother…? That was the last straw!

Yu snarled as fiercely as he could and gave a deadly glare, one that even disturbed Rex.

Seeing the look on the Fast Biter gave the Longneck Biter chills. Chills of excitement.

"So, you want to fight after all, eh?!" He grinned as he stepped forward toward them. "Hahah, looks like we'll get to have some fun after all, Blanco!"

The Longneck Biter looked over at his partner and felt his grin disappear. Blanco was there all right, but he was just out of it. He was terrorized, backed away to the wall like a scared little hatchling. Oh for the love of, Blanco is this much of a wuss?!

"Blanco!!" He shouted.

But he didn't move. He was just…Paralyzed in fear.

Growling in frustration the Longneck Biter snarled and spat in disgust.

"Why do I always have to get stuck with the whimps?!"

He wasn't going to let this stop him though. He was competent enough by himself to take on a stupid Dracovol and Fast Biter. Heck, he's killed three Fast Biters by himself the last time he was given the duty of executing prisoners. This is nothing!

In fact, this was practically an exercise.

"Looks like the pups are going to have a feast tonight." The Longneck Biter commented as he licked his lips before pouncing.

Seeing the pounce coming the Broadnose Flyer and Fast Biter jumped out of the way. They soon turned to attack, jumping at the Longneck Biter baring their claws. He managed to slip away though, as he jumped forward and ran around them before going in for the attack once again.

He jumped for a slash, but Rex reached out and grabbed his paw, stopping the attack. Yu took this opportunity to go for a bite but the Longneck Biter reared his head back and then thrusted forward, his long neck used as a range extender and head butting Yu square in the muzzle, knocking him down.

With a snarl the Longneck Biter reached in with his other paw to attack Rex, but the Broadnose Flyer grabbed the other paw with his. Before he knew it he was on his back on the ground wrestling with the Longneck Biter.

They bit and clawed at each other, drawing blood and injuring one another. But in one roll the Longneck Biter had enough and pushed Rex off with his hind legs, throwing him off and to the ground.

As Rex slowly recovered the Longneck Biter was already on his feet and ready to attack, but just then Yu jumped in and landed on the Longneck Biter's back and sank his teeth into the back of his neck, clamping tightly to stay latched on and to hurt him.

The Longneck Biter roared and snarled as he trashed about to get him off. Try as he might, Yu was holding on pretty well. He recalls the last two times he fought against the Longneck Biters. For some reason they just have a hard time shaking anyone off who bites into the back of their necks. They're practically defenseless.

Also, he wasn't going to let him go anytime soon. Not after that crack about his mother.

The Longneck Biter snarled and got up on his hind legs, trying to buck Yu off. But this proved his mistake. Rex managed to recover from his slam when he saw his chance. The Longneck Biter was too preoccupied with Yu and left his underbelly exposed.

This was his chance.

With a growl Rex ran in and delivered and horizontal slash. His claws made contact and the Longneck Biter's eyes widened. The pain was unbearable and he let out a roar in agony. He buckled and fell to the ground.

Yu jumped off just in time as the Longneck Biter fell. They both looked at the Longneck Biter as he laid on the ground in pain. Rex's claws went in deep and gashed his belly. He won't be able to get up with that.

But then again, surprises do happen.

"Agh…" The Longneck Biter winced as he snarled. To their surprise he managed to get up on his paws despite the wound to his underbelly and all the blood he's losing. "This…is…nothing…!"

Rex and Yu prepared themselves. This Longneck Biter is planning to fight to the death no matter what injuries he sustains.

"You big bully!" An all-too-familiar voice insulted the Longneck Biter, much to Yu's horror.

A Fast Biter hatchling, Terrel, managed to sneak up on the Longneck Biter and jumped onto his back. Before he could do anything about it the hatchling's sharp teeth sank into the Longneck Biter's neck!

"Terrel!" Yu gritted his teeth. No no no! Get away from there!

The Longneck Biter roared as he trashed about once again to get another annoyance off his back. Longneck Biters can't reach back far enough to even get the opponent off when they are latched behind them like this. Their hope is either trash about to get them off or resort to other means such as backing up into boulders or falling on their backs to the ground.

"Aaaagh!" The Longneck Biter roared in pain as the hatchling shredded into the back of his neck. The wound to his abdomen was agony enough, but this was too much.

"Terrel, get away from there!" Yu begged.

But the little hatchling wasn't letting go, he just held on there as tight as he could. He wasn't gonna let this Longneck Biter bully his cousin and friend around!

Rex and Yu didn't know how to get close with the Longneck Biter so out of control. But if they don't do something Terrel might get hurt.

Just then a red streak jumps over the two Sharpteeth and collide against the Longneck Biter. A strong blow to the head topples the enemy to the ground, all while the shock of the blow threw Terrel off of the Longneck Biter, ripping off a chunk of flesh in the process.

Rex gasped.

"Ah! Tanner!"

Tanner stood over the downed Darkarian, a furious growl rattling out from his throat. He looked vicious, like an out of control Sharptooth. Rex and Yu didn't dare to go near him.

"Gck…" The Longneck Biter tried to move his head. The blow to the head was powerful, and the way he was trashing about to get Terrel off left him to take the strike with his head at an awkward angle. In the end, the blow to the head had broken his neck.

"That'll be the last time you ever hurt anyone else." Tanner growled at the defeated Darkarian.

The Darkarian wanted to say something, insult them, growl a them, anything. Why was a Longneck Biter with them, and how could he lose to such inferior Sharpteeth? His eyes suddenly clouded over, and lost consciousness from the blood loss. He'll be dead in a matter of minutes, something Tanner was thankful for.

He turned with a growl, seeing Chomper catching up. But Tanner was clearly mad.

"What in the world is wrong with you three?!" He scolded to Rex, Yu and Terrel. "Did you forget where we are?! You can't pull this kind of stunt here, of all places!!"

The three Sharpteeth wince and lower their eyes, avoiding eye contact from the enraged Longneck Biter. Okay, so they weren't thinking and charged in without a second thought, completely disregarding their own safety and the other's. But dang it, can you blame them for the reason they had?

"Guys…" Chomper broke the silence, calling to them.

The group turn to Chomper and looked over at where the Sharptooth is facing. The second Longneck Biter they saw in the cave before fighting the other one was just standing there, trembling in fear. He scurries against the wall trying to get away from them, scared out of his mind after seeing what they did to the other Longneck Biter.

"S-S-Stay back…!" The white Longneck Biter tried to warn them.

Tanner however didn't show pity. He growled as he stepped closer to him. He wasn't going to let any Darkarians to get away and alert everyone else.

"Give me one reason why I should…"

Before Tanner could even take another step a Fast Biter runs in and stands between him and the Longneck Biter. This came to Tanner's surprise, since when are the Fast Biters in cahoots with the Darkarians?

"Please…Don't hurt him…" The Fast Biter pleaded.

Tanner was shocked. Even more shocking was the two little Fast Biter hatchlings came up and stood with their mother as well, protecting the Longneck Biter.

"W-What…?"

The group was just as confused as Tanner was. Okay, time to recap. These two Longneck Biters came to kill them, right? Why on earth would the Fast Biter call for help one second and then tell their rescuers to back off the next?

But then of course, this Longneck Biter was the same one they saw earlier. The one who wanted nothing to do with the Darkarians, yet he didn't have a choice. Maybe he doesn't want to kill them after all, and had to do it because he was forced to. Well, with the other Longneck Biter gone, there's no one else here to force him to do so.

But then again, if they realize he didn't do his job, it could cost him his life.

"Please…" The Fast Biter spoke again. "This one isn't evil like the others…He…It's because of him that we're still alive…"

"…" In the end it was Rex who made the decision. "All right, we won't hurt him if he doesn't hurt us."

Tanner spun around to face the Broadnose Flyer.

"What?! Are you serious?!"

Yu took a step toward the Fast Biter, looking at her and seeing if he can recognize her. That voice, and of course the calls for help she did, brought all the pieces together.

"It can't be…" He spoke to the Fast Biter. "Diana?"

Rex ignored Tanner's protests upon hearing the familiar name. He pushed Tanner aside- much to Tanner's frustration- and made it up to Yu's side, his eyes set on the Fast Biter.

"What? Diana?!"

The Fast Biter was surprised. How did they know her name? Her eyes went back and forth between Rex and Yu and a look of surprise swept her face.

"Rex…? Yu…?"

Rex and Yu grinned happily and nearly jumped for joy.

"Diana! It's really you!"

"Terrel! It's really her!"

The Dracovol and the two Fast Biters had a joyous reunion with the Fast Biter, who they identified as Diana. All while Tanner and Chomper just stood there watching in overwhelming confusion. They had no idea what in the world is going on here. Do these three know this Fast Biter? From the look of things they definitely do.

"My word!" Diana reacts in shock and delight, unable to believe these Sharpteeth- of all Sharpteeth- would be here. "How in the world did you three end up here? Did-Did the Darkarians catch you as well?"

The three of them calmed down enough to finally respond to her question.

"Heheh, it's a long story." Rex replies with a grin. "We're on a journey to a far-off place, and we ran into trouble and accidentally ended up here in Fortress Valley. Finding you here was another accident. We're just as surprised as you are."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Yu chimed in with a question. "I mean, we thought we lost you all those Bright Circles ago. We thought you were dead."

"Yes…" Diana nodded as she lowered her head. "That was a horrible time…I-"

"Can someone explain to me what in the world is going on?" Tanner interrupted them with a growl. "Please! Don't feel obligated to do so!" He then added with sarcasm.

Rex and Yu realized they were so caught up with this little reunion that they totally forgot to let Chomper and Tanner in on their little circle.

"Um, sorry." Yu apologized. "Chomper, Tanner, this is Diana. She's…One of my pack's Fast Biters."

"Really?" Chomper inquired as he tilted his head. Looking at her now, she does seem a bit familiar, but he couldn't exactly put his claw on it. "Now that you mention it…She…Does look a bit familiar…"

Diana nods.

"Yes…I used to be, at least…You see, it all happened so many Bright Circles ago…"

_It was a simple trek through the desert. But that day, there was a storm made of sand. We tried to stick together to the pack, me and my two children here. But we must've gotten separated. I couldn't find the pack, and it seems that they lost sight of me as well._

"So, you got separated from the pack in a sand storm." Tanner recapped, making sure he has it right.

"When we realized we lost you, we sent one of our own to find you." Yu recalled that day with a sad look on his face. "He was pretty insistent on finding you again."

"Sharp." Rex recalled the Fast Biter's name.

Diana nods.

"Yes, my mate."

_We kept going, managing to get out of the desert with our lives. Tired from such a journey we found shelter in a cave in the mountain walls. We stayed there for a few Bright Circles. I had to take care of my children, they were so tired after that sand storm and all that travelling we had to do._

_I couldn't begin to describe how happy I was when Sharp found us. I was so happy…_

"So…What happened?" Terrel inquired as he looked up at Diana. "Why didn't you and Sharp came back…?"

Diana sighed sadly as she continued.

"They came…"

_The next Bright Circle Sharp was ready to take us back to the pack. But then we were attacked. It appeared our little sanctuary was within the mountains of this place, Fortress Valley. And we invaded the space of the Darkarians._

_They…They killed Sharp. And they took me and my children away as prisoners…_

"Sharp…" Yu gasped. "Sharp's…Dead?"

"I don't believe it…" Rex commented in shock. "All this time…You were here? Held as a prisoner?"

"My children and I would've been dead long ago…" Diana looked over to Blanco, who managed to feel a bit more comfortable but still nervous and scared being with these new faces. "But Blanco here, he felt sympathy for us…I don't know how he did it, but somehow he managed to convince them and kept us alive all this time…"

Blanco smiled a bit and lowered his head, blushing a bit from Diana's kind words.

Tanner however didn't feel anything. He couldn't grasp the concept of a Darkarian actually having a heart. He's pretty biased when it comes to Darkarians, mostly because he never ran into an event that would give the Darkarians any reason to say that they truly have a heart or care.

"I uhhh…Guess we owe you one then." Yu commented to Blanco.

"Yeah yeah, thanks a lot. Now, can we please move on? I'd like to get out of this wretched valley before we get into any more trouble!"

Rex gave Tanner a look. Geez, the least he can do is show a little gratitude this Longneck Biter isn't hostile toward them. He doesn't even want to be part of the Darkarians, otherwise he would've attacked them by now.

"You must've been through so much here…" Chomper couldn't even begin to fathom how horrible Diana's life must've been since she was held as a prisoner here, complete with her two hatchlings. "I can't imagine how horrible it must've been…"

"Diana, please come with us." Yu offered to her. "We're getting out of here and I want you to come with us. Plus, I know my dad and the rest of the pack would love to see you and your hatchlings back with us."

Diana smiled. Finally, she was coming home. Away from these savages and toward safety and paradise with her children. She could almost break down in tears from the happiness. It would've been perfect if Sharp was still alive…

"Oh yes, I would nothing more than to finally leave this horrible place behind." She responded with a happy nod.

"If we must." Tanner muttered with a shake of his head. "This will only make it harder getting out of here through the caverns, but we simply can't leave you here to die."

"Caverns? You don't mean the entry way, do you?"

The group turned their heads to Blanco. So he finally spoke.

Tanner snorted with a growl.

"What of it?"

Blanco took a step back, intimidated by Tanner's behavior.

"W-Well…If you want to get out of the valley, that's…That's not the best place to go through…"

"What do you mean?" Rex inquired.

"A lot of Darkarians patrol the caves. You won't make it far if you try to go through there…"

Tanner wasn't about to believe a Darkarian, but the others may have different opinions on this one. Diana frowned, just about ready to lose hope, but the look on her face just made Blanco to want to help them.

"There is a safer way out, though."

The others blinked and looked at Blanco with hope.

"Next to the entrance, you should see a small hole up above. It should be big enough for even a Broadnose Flyer to squeeze through. If you go through there you should make it to the other side of the mountain walls."

"And why should we trust you?" Tanner growled.

"P-Please…" Blanco stammered, trying to stand up to Tanner's stubborn ways. "I know you hate Darkarians…But trust me…Please…"

Rex, Chomper and Yu frowned. It might be a bit hard to trust a Darkarian, but then again Diana did say this same Darkarian has managed to keep her alive up until now. And besides, wasn't he the same one they overheard expressing his hatred toward Darkarians as well?

They must be cautious, this is true. But in Yu and Rex's opinion, if Diana is willing to trust him, then they suppose they can trust him too.

"The best I can do is getting the Darkarians' attention for a short time." Blanco continued despite the nasty glare he's getting from Tanner. "I think I can give you enough time to make for the opening for you all to escape. But once you're on the other side, you have to be careful. You're going to have to climb down the mountain side and there might be a few Darkarians out there patrolling."

Tanner was skeptical about this, heck he wouldn't even dream about trusting a Darkarian no matter how pathetic or weak they look. But Diana insisted that it was all right to trust him, and even Yu and Rex urged him to trust him, repeating over and over that if Diana can trust him they should too.

In the end Tanner finally submitted and agreed, much to everyone's delight.

The idea was simple, as Blanco described. With the brown Longneck Biter's death he will use that to get everyone between the prisoner's chamber and the cavern's attention. With the distraction set the others will sneak their way to their escape zone.

The group hid behind the boulders from before, making sure they were out of sight from the cave and waited for Blanco to spring the plan. Tanner still couldn't believe they were actually going to trust a Darkarian, of all dinosaurs, with their escape route.

"This is insane. We're trusting a Darkarian with our lives here!" Tanner protested with a growl.

"Look, I know you don't like the Darkarians and this idea may look silly to you, but can't you just have a little faith here? I mean, not all Darkarians can be evil." Rex tried to reason with Tanner to calm him down.

"That's like telling a leafeater hatchling to trust an adult Sharptooth to help him find food." Tanner responded. "It might look like he's leading you to food, but in the end it's all a trap."

"You're not one of much faith, are you?" Diana inquired as she kept her two children close.

Tanner didn't bothered to answer. He simply turned his head away with a snarl and waited. There's nothing else they can do now but to trust this Darkarian, as much as he didn't want to.

Meanwhile Blanco took a deep breath. He's been trying to keep Diana alive for so long, trying to find a way to help her escape with her hatchlings. He couldn't save Sharp, but he was determined to save Diana. She didn't deserve this kind of life, kept away in the shadows by the Darkarians to be killed later. It's…it's just not right.

"Okay…You can do this…" Blanco coached himself as he tried to summon up some courage. "I'll just say I found him…Say there's a scent going upward toward the mountain…It should keep them busy searching there while the others run for the other side…" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "For Diana…Okay, I'm ready…"

Blanco took a deep breath and roared. The signal echoed as far as the other side of the valley where their target waited.

The group jumped as they heard the roar. There's the signal!

Tanner sprung to his feet and got ready. He watched as Longneck Biters responded to the call. Soon he saw Darkarians showing up and made their way toward Blanco. My word, there's got to be at least six or seven in that group alone! They would've definitely been dead if they decided to make a run for it…

"Brown Claw's dead!" Blanco told the group of Longneck Biters.

"What? Dead?"

"What do you mean dead?!"

Blanco flinched and gulped, but he tried to be brave.

"I-I don't know! I just found him dead in the prisoners chamber! I-I think I caught the scent of whoever did it heading up to the mountains…If you hurry I think we can catch the culprit!"

"Whoever killed a Darkarian in our own home is a stupid one! You three! With me! We'll head up the mountains and scout the one responsible! As for the rest of you, go in with Blanco and investigate the scene!"

"Roger!"

"You got it, boss!"

From the safety of their hiding spot the group watched as the Longneck Biters went about their orders. All right. Blanco did his part, now the rest is up to them!

"Now's our chance!" Rex announced.

"I doubt such a plan will work for long." Tanner responded as he looked to the others. "We have a very small window of opportunity here. So we have to move fast!"

"Get ready…" Rex watched as the other Darkarians went out of sight. Just when he was sure they wouldn't be seen he gave the signal. "Now!"

No time to waste! As fast as they could they ran from their hiding spot and toward the giant cave entrance in front of them. This was their only way out of here, their only shot.

They ran as fast as their legs could carry them, panting for breath and refusing to stop for anything. They've been through horror traveling through this place. The mere thought of being stuck behind enemy lines like this with the Darkarians was horrible. They couldn't wait until they were out.

In seconds they made it to the mountain walls next to the cavern entrance. Rex stop in front of it but didn't dare to set foot in there. It was dark, plain and simple. They'd have to rely on their senses other than sight to travel in there. And if they were caught, they'd be dead.

"Up there!" Chomper called as he looked up.

The others looked up and saw up above in the mountain the opening Blanco told them about. They'd have to climb, but it's better than nothing.

Tanner and Rex went up first with Terrel and Diana's two hatchlings, followed by the others. During the whole run and climb it was suspense and tension all around. They prayed and hoped that there was really no Darkarians around to spot and attack them. They placed a lot of faith into Blanco for this, here's hoping their faith weren't misplaced.

They reached the opening. Just as Blanco said, it was big enough for even a Broandose Flyer to squeeze through. Tanner went in first, followed by the hatchlings. Rex made sure to go in last, allowing Diana, Yu and Chomper to squeeze into the opening first.

Rex took one good last look at Fortress Valley. Such a beautiful place…Who knew the Darkarians would take this place as their home…

If…If they had Diana in here as prisoners…Then my gosh, what other dinosaurs are held here against their will as prisoners? Leafeaters…even Sharpteeth…

The Darkarians…Truly a force to fear…They have to be stopped…

Rex just couldn't let the Darkarians do the same to the Great Valley. Not his home.

Determined- now more than ever- to reach the Crescent Valley he went through the opening and crawled his way through to catch up to the others.

The small crevasse through the mountain was uncomfortable to say the least, but it was the safest way out without risking the cavern and possibly getting lost and caught. Besides, a scrape or two against rocks is better than being torn apart by teeth and claws.

Despite the uncomfortable travel aside the group safely reach the other side of the mountains. You couldn't begin to describe how happy they were to finally be on the other side of the mountains, free and away from that place!

"We're…We're free!" Yu jumps in happiness.

"Yay!" Terrel cheers with a grin. "We're finally out of that scary place!"

"Don't celebrate yet, guys." Chomper reminded them all. "We're not out of it yet."

"The kid's right." Tanner adds with a nod. "Blanco said there might be Darkarians out here near the mountains. We have to climb down and get as far away as we can before we can celebrate."

Terrel complains. They're right, Yu thought, Blanco did say that.

"We must make haste then." Diana suggested, nudging her children to get up. "I dread the longer we stay the more chances we have of getting caught."

Rex nodded.

"Let's go."

With Tanner and Rex in the lead the group began to move down the mountain. They carefully climbed down the boulders until they found a path leading down, just like on the other side. They're sure Darkarians use this path to get around, as well as unsuspecting travelers who think this path would lead them to safety or shelter.

As they helped each other down to the path one of Diana's hatchlings wandered off a few steps and stopped. Up ahead a second path met with the one they're on. Just then the hatchling gasped as it saw someone moving down from the second path and into theirs. A Longneck Biter!

"Mom!" The hatchling chirped.

Rex turned and gasped as he too caught sight of the Longneck Biter. Unfortunately for them he saw them as well. He roared and charged after the group for the attack as the others were just finishing on their descent to the path.

With a roar Tanner jumped over the group and into the Longneck Biter, pouncing it down into the ground and holding it down.

"Go!" He snarled back to the others. "I'll hold him off!"

Rex took a step forward.

"But-"

"Just go!"

Rex stepped back once and nodded. Motioning to the others they hurried down the path to the surface below. The sooner they're out of here the sooner they're out of danger. Tanner can take care of himself, after all he's a Longneck Biter, and above all else, a Rock Ranger.

As they kept on moving down another Longneck Biter stopped their advance up ahead. The group skidded to a halt as their path was blocked. Dang, Blanco warned them about this. But they didn't expect it would be this tough to slip past them out here.

"Oh no!" Yu snarled as a second Longneck Biter stopped their advances.

Behind them a second Longneck Biter cornered them. And to make it worse a third Longneck Biter has just reared its ugly head on top of a boulder to their left.

"We're trapped." Rex growled as he stood on all fours facing the second attacker.

"How did they know?!" Terrel asked, terrified as he huddled near Yu's leg.

"The Longneck Biter that surprised us." Chomper responded. "He roared before he attacked. He must've alerted these guys about us."

Diana was terrified as she huddled her two children together, protecting them. They were so close to reaching the end of their nightmare, to finally be free again. They're right there! Why oh why are the Darkarians so cruel?

Rex eyed the three of them. This is terribly bad. They can't take on three Longneck Biters at once! Rex, Chomper and Yu can barely take on a single one of them together. How are they going to get past three of them…?

The third Longneck Biter snarled as he was about to jump off the boulder to attack them. Rex watched him and thought that maybe he could stop him and get the other's attention when he saw another figure above that Longneck Biter. He watched as it jumped and landed right on top of the Longneck Biter!

The snarl and roars of the attacked Longneck Biter caught the whole group- even the Longneck Biters- by surprise as they set their eyes on the boulder. Whoever attacked the Longneck Biter had a lot of guts with two others here.

They couldn't see anything from where they were standing, but the sound of bones breaking was sure enough to let them know that one of them is dead. It was just a matter of waiting to see who was left standing, and if it was friend or foe.

A couple of seconds later the victorious figure stood at the edge of the boulder. It was standing on its hind legs, looking down at them.

"Ah!" Rex gasped. He's…

"It's not nice to overwhelm others like this." Kumo threatened to the Longneck Biters. "Stuff like this always comes back to bite you in the tail."

"Kumo!" Rex, Chomper and Yu cried at the same time.

Kumo looked down and looked at them all.

"Long time no see, you three."

This was the surprise of their life! To meet again with Kumo here, of all places! They haven't seen him for almost half a year. That's a lot of Bright Circles to go through! All three of them were smiling from ear to ear to see him again.

Kumo wasn't sharing such happiness, but then again this is a dinosaur who they have never seen smile or laugh.

The newcomer jumped off of the boulder and landed between the group and the Longneck Biter. He landed and stood on all three of his four legs, one paw off the ground with his claws flexed out ready for a fight as he defended the group.

"So," Kumo began as he stood between the Longneck Biter and the others. "This is another fine mess you boys got yourselves into."

"Yeah yeah, scold us later." Rex responded as he stood in defense on the other side facing the other Longneck Biter.

"Fine." Kumo replied to Rex's reponse. He takes a step forward and holds his paw back to the others. "Stand back, I got this one."

The Longneck Biter seems to have had enough of this creep. He snarled and jumped forward to attack.

Kumo charged and tackled into the Longneck Biter. The attacker landed on his paws and snarled at the wingless Broadnose Flyer before attacking with a slash. Kumo grabbed the paw with his and used his other paw to sink his claws into the Longneck Biter's shoulder, drawing blood.

The Longneck Biter snarled in pain and went to bite Kumo's arm, but Kumo was one step ahead. Without mercy he sunk his claws deeper and moved them upward. In a sickening sight the claws dragged and created deep wounds snaking from the shoulder up the Longneck Biter's neck. He was applying so much force into it that his arm was shaking as he forced his claws through skin and muscle.

Before the Longneck Biter could register what happened Kumo's claws reached his jaw and mouth, the claws so deep that it scraped the bone until they exited through his lips.

The others- minus Rex, who was busy with the other Longneck Biter- were horrified to see such a wound. A huge gash from the shoulder up the neck to the jaw. You could even see the muscles and bone inside.

With a snarl Kumo released the Longneck Biter's paw and slashed him across the face with his other paw, knocking the Longneck Biter to the ground. What power...And how ruthless…

Kumo wiped the blood from his claws on the ground as he looked over his shoulder to the others.

"I think this is when you're supposed to run and never look back."

Chomper and Yu shook off the shock of such fury and motioned at Diana and the hatchlings to move. Kumo watched as they kept moving down the mountain, staying behind in case anyone else showed up.

"Hm?" Kumo noticed that Rex was still here, and playing with the other Longneck Biter. He has to be playing, he possibly can't be taking this long with one measly Longneck Biter.

"Agh!" Rex cried as he landed on his back on the ground. He rubbed his cheek as he just got struck across the face. "I'll show you…!"

Before he could even get up Kumo tackled into the Longneck Biter and bit into his neck. Not even a chance to react before Kumo pinned the Longneck Biter down with his front paws and pulled his head back as hard as he could, ripping off a chunk of the Longneck Biter's neck and spitting it out. Geez, who did they killed for Kumo to even slaughter them so savagely?

"Whoa…"

Kumo jumped off of the Longneck Biter and took a step toward Rex.

"I see you haven't changed at all."

"Are you calling me weak?" Rex growled as he slowly got up on all four.

"I'll leave that to your imagination."

Suddenly another Longneck Biter came out from the boulder to their left. Upon seeing him Kumo glared and took his stance.

"Heads up!"

Rex turned and gasped.

"Wait! That's not a Darkarian!"

The Longneck Biter took a defensive stance as he saw Kumo taking his offensive stance. He was glad to see Rex was okay, but who's this other guy?

"Friend of yours?" Kumo inquired.

"I was about to ask Rex the same thing." Tanner added.

Kumo softened his glare and got out of his stance, recognizing the Longneck Biter as non-hostile.

"Whatever. It can wait. Right now we have to leave. The others have probably reached ground by now."

Rex nodded and together with Kumo and Tanner he ran down the path toward the base of the mountain. Soon enough they reach the bottom and reunite with the others, but they weren't going to stop.

No, they were going to run as fast and as far as they could, their eyes never looking back to the valley they just escaped from; the home of the Darkarians.

Diana especially would never want to see that place again; the place where she lost her mate; the place that made her and her children's life a living hell for so many Bright Circles.

However, she will never forget the kindness of one Longneck Biter in particular: Blanco.

He wanted to leave the Darkarians so badly, it tore her heart to escape that place but leaving him behind.

_Blanco…I pray you'll be safe…And that one day we may meet again…Under more pleasant circumstances…_

As for Chomper…

"_Yes, just as you recall, that fateful night where your merry group of savages attacked my home…"_

"_Yes, when we began the alliance with the Broadnose Flyers…So that boy is the result of our deeds. In other words, your son."_

That conversation he eavesdrop will haunt him for the rest of his life. That Broadnose Flyer…Rex's…


End file.
